A Certain Cliché Switchover
by Cun
Summary: Mikoto and Kuroko trade bodies and has to pass as each other while at school. From there, everything spirals downwards.
1. Prologue

What is this that suddenly shows up from nowhere? Let me explain: *ahem* This is a fan fiction that started out in June 2010 as a mixture of "trying to write something completely cliché and make a proper story out of it" and "exploring characters to get to know them better". So here you go. The success rate might vary; I did have a lot of fun writing it though, and if it can make a couple others smile as well, I'm more than happy with that.

The story is as of this very moment not finished, so regarding update schedule, it will be completely unexpected and random. (It is extremely nerve-wracking to post this when the story isn't complete yet, but I have to start somewhere!)

**Spoiler warning:** The story might contain spoilers to "A Certain Destined Introduction", so if you care about that, now you know. Regarding some of the content (mainly characters showing up), you might want to read ACDI before reading this, but you don't _have_ to. Things will be introduced in a hopefully satisfying manner. Regarding the original material, there are very little chance of any spoilers at all, and if you have seen the first season of the anime, there are definitely none.

Hope you enjoy!

(As always, English is my second language, so please point out any errors or weirdoes you may stumble over. Thanks!)

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><p><strong>A Certain Cliché Switchover (yup, I changed the name to the cliché one)<br>**

By Cun**  
><strong>

**Prologue**

It was a dark, late evening long after curfew in Academy City. The street lights were dimmed, the trains had stopped running; there was, in short, nothing to do for a student at this time of night. Usually, all the girls at the dorm of Tokiwadai middle school would be long since sleeping in their beds, but tonight, one girl was just about returning to the dorm at this time.

Due to her helping Anti-Skill with a case, Shirai Kuroko had gotten her curfew extended on exclusive conditions for this one night. She was now free to go home, after a long, eventful night that ended on a rather puzzling note; though she had no reason to linger on that for now. She was already close to breaking her extended curfew time, even while teleporting eighty meters at a time the entire distance from Judgment 177th Branch.

Returning back to the dorm at the nick of time, she escaped the main entrance with a mere glare of warning from the dorm mistress, and headed to her room without lingering to say more than good night.

Once she opened the door to her room, she was greeted by the darkness. _Onee-sama must have gone to bed already. _Naturally, since it was so late. Her glance flickered over to the bed of her roommate; and indeed, she was sound asleep in her Gekota pajama, lying atop the bed sheets since the night was fairly warm. _Ah, if only you would follow the laws of nature and sleep in the nude—! _Thinking such inappropriate thoughts, the pig-tailed Judgment member closed the door behind her and went over to her own bed, teleporting off her school vest before she paused, once more looking over at the other girl.

She was mumbling in her sleep.

Kuroko could not make out the words from where she stood, but she had an irritated inkling as to what the older girl would be muttering about. A nameless spiky-haired boy came to mind. _That insufferable monkey—! _Clenching around the edge of her shirt, Kuroko looked positively pissed off. All summer, her roommate had talked about that rumored _idiot _non-stop, and even now when school had once more started, it didn't seem to let up.

"Wait up, you jerk…" Mikoto muttered happily and clenched the pillow below her head, still quite obviously dreaming rather than speaking to Kuroko. The younger girl looked at her roommate for a second, observing her childish pajama and ruffled, sleep-worn hair, before her eyes landed on her lips, slightly parted to let her breathe, subtle and inviting…

Her heart suddenly sped up with several kilometers an hour. _This… this is… _Feeling sweaty and nervous and almost like she was having a heart attack, she swallowed a lump in her throat, staring at that enthralling sight like a hypnotized penguin.

Before she knew it, she had moved to stand beside the bed, looking down at her Onee-sama and her peaceful face. _This is… my chance!_

And without thinking further ahead, her heart beating like a worn-out drumstick, she leaned down towards Mikoto's unsuspecting form, their lips coming closer and closer…

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><p><strong>Note:<strong>

Random fact: The prologue was written one year after the story was started.

**Next time:** Problems


	2. Part 1: Problems

**Part 1: Problems**

There are some mornings you'd rather not want to wake up. When the pillow and bed are just so comfortable it's tempting to try and convince your teacher or dorm mistress you've actually melted together with the mattress during the night and will have to stay exactly there for the entire day or until the mutation gets reversed.

Of course, being a responsible student to a certain degree, Misaka Mikoto had never used such a lame excuse to try and stay out of school; neither would she ever consider it, no matter how tempting it may sound.

"Guh…" Her head felt unusually heavy this morning. If one didn't know better, it'd be easy to suspect it was because of too much alcohol intake last night. Of course, she was a minor and would never touch alcohol even with a pole, plus she could kind of remember doing homework until going to bed rather than raving about at some underage party, but well…

Putting a hand to her forehead, she could feel the throbbing signs of a headache. "It's not like I'm my mother either…" She grimaced; her voice was coarse. "Did I catch a cold…? Uh…"

Sitting up in bed slowly, Misaka Mikoto, also known as the "ace of Tokiwadai" or "the Railgun" (or even "That Crazy Bitch From Tokiwadai" due to her tendency to destroy people's electrical belongings whenever she entered a fight, though she herself was blissfully unaware of this particular nickname), tried rubbing some life into her face. She was honestly feeling like a zombie, which was hardly the norm. Usually she could jump out of bed and be all energetic – in contrast, this was what waking up from hibernation must feel like.

Yawning deeply, she turned to exit the bed – only to face the wall. _Uh—? _Feeling slightly disoriented she turned to the other side and slung her legs out of the bed, and vaguely registered that her skin brushed past the mattress. While not usually something of great interest, this did put a strange notion into her head. Simply for the reason that, she shouldn't be barelegged, so her skin shouldn't be able to brush by the mattress. _Did I kick off my pajamas during the night? _When the nights were too warm, she sometimes woke up after having disposed of the garment in her sleep (with her roommate being who she was, going to bed without wearing it was out of the picture). Of course this was the most logical explanation. So she looked down to confirm whether this was the case this morning as well, and her mind instantly froze up.

Her pajama… was completely gone. Not to say she was naked; though she might as well have been. Instead of her Gekota pajama, she was wearing a transparent silky night gown, with darker material covering the areas of her body which needed to be covered to not warrant an M-rating.

At once, her mind was paralyzed with shock and horror in a lovely mix (which at least made her feel completely sober); and then, she thought: _Wait, no, that's not right. There's no way I could be wearing something like this. _She rubbed her eyes, and blinked, looking down again. It didn't help in the slightest: Her clothing was still the same.

A sinking feeling of terror and fire filled her gut. As expected, the first thought to strike her was: _How did Kuroko do this without me noticing?_

Yes, there was only one person who could be the culprit behind this, and that would be an exceptionally bold move from the teleporter too. To remove her pajama and replace it with something like this without her even noticing was… It didn't help matters that she was feeling kind of odd, as if her very core tried to tell her something was _very _wrong – for instance, why did she feel so – so _weird_? Her hair was kind of heavy – had Kuroko drugged her as well? The strange feeling only added to the torrent of fire and it immediately shot up into her head.

_That pervert! _She gritted her teeth tightly and stood up. _She never learns, that moron! _In three quick strides she stood beside the bed on the other side of their living room table. Grabbing the bed sheet, she violently pulled it off.

"Kuroko, what the hell are you –!" Her raging outburst cut off halfway, as her brain was instantly overloaded. What she had revealed under the bed sheet wasn't her perverted, stupid roommate, but rather… _A Sister? What's she doing here? Where's Kuroko? _She was completely perplexed. There was no doubt, to her, that she was currently looking down at herself, and the only way she could be looking at herself like this would be by looking at one of her clones. _Did Kuroko bring her here during the night and not return from her Judgment work? _It made no sense, but that was the only logical explanation she could think of.

The other person winced at the sudden loss of the warm quilt, and turned and opened her eyes, looking drowsily up at Mikoto.

"Uh, Onee-sama…?" However, she stopped at that, her eyes widening. "Nuh – wha –!" She looked utterly confused, staring at Mikoto with huge eyes.

It wasn't a Sister. Mikoto might wish with her entire being, but there was no way this was a Sister. They neither spoke nor acted this way; and while someone may have made some adjustments to their personality that she was not aware of, there were other factors that started creeping up her spine and settle in her mind to sway her determination. Mainly the weird sensation of herself and her surroundings. Something was up; she was not feeling quite right, and the girl lying in this bed...

_But then… who…? _The answer was pretty simple, yet mind-boggling. Apart from the Sisters, there was, in fact, only one other person who would call her 'Onee-sama'.

In other words…

"W-what's going…?" She tried to remain calm as long as possible, even though the long hair falling against her back, the impossible clothing she had woken in, and the fact that she could not sense her surroundings through her electromagnetic ability was starting to seep into her like a river slowly running over its edges.

"Onee-sama…?" Her own voice came from in front of her, as the person with her face stared at her with impossibly wide eyes. "What… is this…?"

"What the – _what the hell are you doing_!" Mikoto screamed, and the voice that left her mouth was not her own – and that was even more terrifying. "What the hell are you doing with my body, _you PERVERT_!"

XXX

To say things were _bizarre _would be an underestimation. To call it _unexplainable _or _impossible_ did not really give the right emphasis either. In fact, there was probably not a language on Earth that held a word that could describe this situation.

"This… this is just…" Mikoto was leaning heavily on the luxurious basin sink in their bathroom, staring down into the drain rather than at the mirror before her. After recovering from the first shock of seeing each other – or themselves – well, whatever; they had somehow managed to move from their bedroom to the bathroom. This was due to the instinct of needing to look in the mirror, to have the truth verified. As such, she had already seen her own – or rather _Kuroko's_ – image in there, and her brain was still not able to comprehend it. It was beyond all reason. She felt like she wanted to destroy the mirror, but could not see how that would help.

The situation was this: She currently inhabited the body of her roommate.

How likely is that?

"Maa, maa, Onee-sama." Kuroko was smiling brightly, though a bit strained. She was quite simply trying to keep the environmental damage as small as possible whilst trying to compress the situation into something that could fit her grasp. Waking up to be staring into her own face had been something of a shock, to say the least.

"Don't _maa, maa_ mewith my own voice; I think I might do something regrettable." Mikoto muttered.

"Aaah…" Kuroko scratched her cheek – or would that be Mikoto's cheek? – The odd thought made her lower her hand, feeling awkward. She was standing behind her Onee-sama, and could plainly observe her own sunken form and loose, auburn hair falling past her shoulders. She had no way of starting to explain this even in her own mind. Looking in the mirror was like looking directly at her Onee-sama; her hair, her face, her body – it all belonged to her roommate. And Kuroko herself was apparently on another spot entirely. If anything, it was like an out-of-body experience – only she was still most definitely inside a body.

"How – how…" Mikoto said, grappling the edge of the sink with her hands – Kuroko's hands. Her hair felt heavy against her back, her body was too small and thin – "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!"

"Calm down, Onee-sama…" Kuroko said, trying to prevent an electric genocide and simultaneously stay sane – by acting calm and levelheaded. "Even if the situation is grave, it will be easier if we focus on the positives…" Her eyes glanced downwards almost sensually, "…for instance, who knew your body was actually this comfortable both on the outside _and_ on the inside?" She put her hands to her current breasts, measuring them with a lustful look.

Well, staying sane by acting calm, levelheaded and completely normal. In conclusion, there was no reason to believe the person standing there was anyone but Shirai Kuroko.

"Get your hands off of there!" Mikoto turned around and grabbed her hands, trying to force them away. It didn't matter that Kuroko was still wearing her pajama or that the hands belonged to the same body – it was the principle that mattered.

"Geh – Onee-sama, please don't make such a scary expression with my face!" Kuroko stepped backwards and raised her hands in a disarming gesture.

Mikoto pulled back, but was still furious. Seeing her own body in front of her like this, and knowing that pervert of a roommate was inside it, and not understanding what was going on at all – her insides were coiling like snakes. "How the hell did this happen! It's not alcohol or drugs or even an accident, so then what the heck is going on? Did our bodies somehow change shape during the night?"

"That wouldn't explain how we ended up in each other's clothes or bed…" Kuroko noted.

"Nothing can explain it! Something like this can't happen, even in Academy City!" Mikoto was so distressed she couldn't even put her mind to think logically. She pressed the palms of her hands into her forehead, feeling completely helpless.

Kuroko put a hand to her (or Mikoto's) chin thoughtfully. Saying she could guess what had happened would be too optimistic, but there had to be a logical explanation. "Could this be a mental condition? If we are hallucinating …" She didn't sound convinced, and made a strained expression as she tried to think.

Mikoto had given up on thinking. "If that's all it is, maybe a billion volt shock will wake us up!"

Kuroko's eyes widened abruptly, and she pulled back from her own furious face with her hands up like a shield; "Onee-sama, you'll fry your young, maiden body!"

"I'd rather have it as black as charcoal than having to think about _you_ walking around with it, so –" Mikoto's fired eruption stopped abruptly, as if she'd been interrupted. The furious expression was replaced by one of confusion; her fingers twitched, her breath hitched, and her eyes widened at the strange sensation – _What?_

"Onee-sama…?" Kuroko hesitatingly peeked out behind her hands; a rather comical sight of seemingly the ace of Tokiwadai covering in front of her roommate taking place this early morning. Of course, it was still the other way around, but an outsider would never know.

"There's no… electricity…?" Mikoto muttered, staring at her hands in wide-eyed wonder, an icy feeling filling her stomach and creeping up to her throat. She couldn't even create a spark! Drawing her breath shakily, she felt like she was moments away from hyperventilating or fainting, or both. "There's no – nothing… I can't…"

Kuroko stared at her in disbelief, and then concentrated, trying to use her own ability. However nothing happened. Shock tore through her body. "I cannot teleport!" She looked at Mikoto, panic seeping into her chest. "Onee-sama!"

"We… we've lost… our abilities…?" Mikoto whispered, dread filling her entire being. She couldn't make a single spark – no, scratch that, she was unable to feel her magnetic field at all. No wonder she couldn't sense her surroundings; without her magnetic field, she was as blind as a mole rat. No, even more than that; at least mole rats could feel their way around with their whiskers._ I lost my whiskers..._? Feeling sick all of the sudden, she sank to her knees on the floor. "Ugh…" For an esper, and especially one of Academy City's strongest, suddenly losing your ability was bound to trigger some kind of breakdown.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko cried, plopping down in front of her and grabbing her shoulders. "Onee-sama, please don't despair!" It felt unreal, gripping at her own body with Onee-sama's hands. Though the feeling of human skin and warmth was just the same, it was still completely wrong. Right now her focus was not on her own discomfort however, but rather on keeping her roommate from entering a state of complete shock.

"How did this happen?" Mikoto muttered, staring at the floor lifelessly and totally ignoring Kuroko's plea. "How… it's not possible…" She looked at her hands again, too small for her own, and felt the way too long hair fall around her shoulders and past her face. It was uncomfortable and weird – it was just wrong! She clenched her eyes shut, shaking all over. "It's not possible! Who the hell did this! If someone has a weird ability like this and wants to mess us up, I'll blast their heads off the moment I see them!"

"Onee-sama…" Kuroko didn't know what to say. This situation was not something she could explain easily, yet there was no denying their current predicament. "Perhaps we are merely too distraught to wield our abilities at the moment." She tried to say something logical.

"Or did we swap abilities as well?" Mikoto asked breathlessly, hunched over like a sack of potatoes.

"No way." Kuroko imagined herself firing a railgun – she wouldn't know how, in the first place. Actually, she didn't know how Mikoto made a single spark at all. In any case, she felt like she didn't dare trying it out. "Our powers originate from our brain and are powered by our Personal Reality; I can't imagine how…" Had their brains swapped…? But then what about memories and… She was feeling dizzy just trying to think about it.

"Yeah, you're right." Mikoto chuckled. "So that means we've truly lost them then… or we're just too shocked to even…" she trailed off, staring down into the floor with a hopeless expression on her borrowed face.

"Onee-sama, please cheer up! At least we are not physically hurt, or even worse! This must be a temporary predicament – I am certain if we just do as we normally would it will –"

"Are you stupid?" Mikoto exclaimed, looking up. "Do as we normally do – you mean go to school? We can't go to school like this! How the heck are we going to explain it to the teacher?"

"Ah – well, I'm certain Tokiwadai has the means to –"

"There's no way they can change us back!" Mikoto yelled. "How do you think this happened in the first place? A drug? A burst of radioactive activity? Some kind of meteorite from outer space? Do you really want them to put a hundred electrodes in your brain and try to manipulate your DNA to turn you back?"

"Onee-sama…" Kuroko couldn't even come up with anything to say, both unsettled by Onee-sama's desperation and the fact that she was face to face with her own face. "Then what…?"

"Let's call in sick!" Mikoto decided. Maybe she hoped that by staying inside all day, they might wake up tomorrow and be back to normal.

"In that case we'll need a proper reason for the dorm mistress…"

This was true. If they were sick, they were required to be examined by the dorm nurse for an educated opinion – Tokiwadai would not want any of their students becoming seriously ill or risk spreading a virus throughout the student body.

Theoretically they could pretend and perhaps fool the dorm mistress (Mission: Impossible) but there was no way they could fool the state-of-the-art instruments used to monitor their health. In the worst case scenario, if they kept insisting they were ill, the school may send them off to a hospital to have them thoroughly checked for any undiscovered diseases. And if they were caught trying to pretend, the punishment would certainly be severe.

Mikoto was troubled. "We could pretend to go to school and then skip out…" This didn't feel comfortable either; she didn't really feel like wandering around outside inhabiting Kuroko's body, and in the end, they would still be discovered and the punishment for skipping school was just as harsh as pretending to be sick. _I suppose if we found an arcade and stayed there all day we might not be seen… but even if we do, how will that help?..._

She twisted her mind about it, gritting her teeth, while Kuroko watched, feeling awkward looking at her own expression like this. Then, she finally burst: "Aaaah, I can't think! Let's just get dressed and go eat breakfast, then maybe we'll come up with something!"

XXX

Morning ritual followed. Kuroko, trying to put away all thoughts on the how's and why's for now, almost sprayed herself with her own deodorant before Mikoto ripped it out of her hands and handed her the green Gekota deo roll-on instead (and while Kuroko gave the thing a displeased frown at first, she suddenly thought about how Mikoto used this every day… at which point Mikoto dryly informed her it was a brand new one). After Mikoto had finally managed to tie up Kuroko's pigtails properly (having so long hair was quite the bother), they went to get dressed. Kuroko sighed deeply at Mikoto's choice of underwear as usual.

"Really, Onee-sama, always wearing such improper things…"

"I don't want to hear that from someone who owns a transparent pair of panties. Don't you have any _normal _underwear? Oh, and don't forget the shorts." She added the last part as she threw the item in question over to her bed from the wardrobe.

Kuroko made a sour face, while Mikoto proceeded to strap on the leather belts filled with spikes. She wasn't thrilled at the idea of having to walk around with these on her thighs, but if they were going to play each other (at least for now) they'd have to do it properly, she guessed.

"I will not be wearing that."

"Hm?" She looked up at her own displeased face, and felt momentarily unsettled.

Kuroko eyed the shorts on the bed with distaste. "I will not put on those hideous things."

Mikoto felt a twitch of annoyance, since she had relented to wearing _Kuroko's _choice of underwear. She felt chilly and uncomfortable already with what little clothing she'd been forced to wear…

…

"…then I'll wear them instead."

Kuroko jolted when Mikoto strode past her and picked up the piece of clothing. "What? Excuse me!"

"I said, I'll wear them instead. I don't think I'll be comfortable in this outfit…"

"Absolutely not!" Kuroko yanked the shorts out of her hands, looking positively frightened. "I can't be seen walking around with this… _thing_!" She gave it a piercing glare as if it were alive and planning to grope her.

"It's not like anyone will see; it's under your skirt." Mikoto pointed out.

"Then why wear it in the first place!"

"It's a matter of comfort!" She was suddenly blushing. "Why do I have to wear your perverted underwear if it doesn't matter anyway? If you won't wear it, I will!"

Kuroko hesitated, gazing at the shorts for a few seconds. Then she suddenly moved to put it on.

"And then you – what the—" Mikoto was at a loss of words.

"If the choice is between wearing it myself as Onee-sama, or having Onee-sama wear it as myself, the choice is simple." Kuroko said importantly, pulling the shorts up as high as they would go.

Mikoto gave a deep sigh. "I don't get your reasoning, but whatever."

Finally they left the room, Mikoto still trying to get used to the alien feeling of the leather belts around her thighs and the draft up her skirt, and Kuroko still displeased with wearing something indelicate and unladylike. More so, she was slightly unsettled at the fact that she was taller than her Onee-sama. Well, to be honest, it was more unsettling to look down at herself – not to mention seeing her own face from different angles not possible by natural means. It was more than a little disturbing.

"Why do you wear these things all the time?" Mikoto huffed, trying to adjust the leather belts to a comfortable position. She should possibly be worrying about the same things as Kuroko, but having seen her own face from a distance several times already thanks to the Sisters, she wasn't nearly as mystified at this particular aspect of their problem.

"A Judgment member must never be caught off-guard." Kuroko said proudly, showing away her troubled feelings for now.

"You expect someone to attack you even in the dorm?" Mikoto asked dryly. "Honestly, there's a limit to being paranoid, you know." She gazed briefly at the doors they passed, as if expecting someone to jump out from inside.

"As a member of Judgment there is always a chance I might have to defend myself," Kuroko said with her chin held high, "there are situations in which using your ability is limited and other tools are necessary." Of course, with their current predicament it looked like Mikoto was the one acting like an important member of society.

"Even if that's true, I don't like seeing that kind of self-absorbed expression on my own face…" Mikoto muttered. "Anyway, it seems like we'll have to live with it for now, so please don't do anything stupid."

They entered the cafeteria, where a horde of chatting girls were already seated and eating breakfast. They were later than usual this morning, and thus all the tables were already occupied.

"Tsk." Kuroko was displeased at having to share a table with anyone else, but it seemed like they had no choice today.

Mikoto scanned the room expertly and found a table with only two occupants; one short-haired girl with a pink flowery hairpin above her ear, and the other a long-haired girl with a braid. Feeling a bit better, she went over with Kuroko in tow. The girls sitting at the table were chatting eagerly, giggling at something – they looked like perfectly regular girls, but of course, these were ladies of Tokiwadai, and thus their body language and speech patterns were high-class too. Even their giggles seemed more refined.

Mikoto and Kuroko stopped beside the table, and the two girls looked up at them and smiled. "Good morning, Misaka-san!"

"Good morning, Lorene-san, Fujitsu-san." Mikoto smiled in greeting to her classmates.

As if they hadn't expected her to answer at all, the two girls stared at her wondrously. "Err… good morning…" The longhaired girl with a braid looked between her and Kuroko, "um…"

_Gah – I forgot!_ Mikoto was thunderstruck. Of course they wouldn't know it was her – and they had probably never spoken with Kuroko. _What – am I stupid! _She reddened at an alarming speed, but luckily, Kuroko was quick to react; "Good morning, Lorene-san, Fujitsu-san." Her tone of voice was regal like she was a queen addressing her servants, but that alone wouldn't be enough to make anyone ask questions.

"Sit down, Misaka-san, and your friend too!" The girl with the braid said, smiling brightly.

"Mm, this is my roommate and one and only partner, Shirai Kuroko." Kuroko offered as an introduction, and sat down, chin held high in pride. _Don't introduce yourself like that!_ Mikoto fumed, but bit back her complaint.

"Ah, it's nice to meet the rumored roommate at last." The braided girl smiled at Mikoto, who was still standing. Mikoto's mouth twitched; she found it extremely awkward, to say the least.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Shirai-san." The short-haired girl added brightly, smiling at her too.

_I – I need to greet them back, don't I? _Mikoto questioned a rather basic part of normal behavior. It would seem completely unnatural for her to just sit down without a word – even though she'd rather pretend Kuroko was an unsociable, shy little girl, there was no way that would go by unnoticed if it kept up.

A bright smile forced its way onto her face. "Aaah, please pardon my rudeness!" She bowed her entire upper body. "I am honored to meet the classmates of Mi – O… —!" Her words stopped dead midsentence as her mind suddenly overheated. _What – what's wrong with me, just say it already! _But it seemed like her mind had been unable to determine just _what _to say.

"Maa, Onee-ssoough!" Kuroko realized her mistake midways and faked a rather violent cough. Good thing too, since if the ace of Tokiwadai suddenly started calling her underclassman something like _Onee-sama_, some strange rumors were bound to surface on the school grounds.

Lorene-san and Fujitsu-san merely looked at them curiously though. Mikoto hurriedly tried to amend the situation; "I'm sorry, it's my honor, really! Please don't mind my stupid roommate!" She bowed her head hastily, and then sat down on the chair beside Kuroko with a sigh of relief (while Kuroko sported a somewhat insulted look).

There was a troublesome feeling growing in Mikoto's stomach. _This is harder than I thought… and we haven't even left the dorm yet. _What would happen if they suddenly overstepped their boundaries and created some very awkward situations? _We should probably try to socialize as little as possible. _In any case, it didn't seem like the other girls were bothered by anything resembling a body change. She snuck a peek at them as Lorene-san asked Fujitsu-san whether the mackerel was any good this morning. _If more people were changed, would it be some kind of disease…? _It made her head hurt just trying to think about it. _It doesn't matter. We'll just live with it for now, and then… it'll probably reverse itself before long…_

Trying to think something optimistic like that, she looked down and realized there was no food in front of her yet. That's right; lately, Kuroko would run and get it for them before she could even try to figure out what she wanted, despite her protests. It was almost as if she'd gotten the impression that force feeding Mikoto the right kind of food would make her more acceptable of her perverted tendencies or something. Of course she had been extremely suspicious of drugs in the food to begin with, but there seemed to be none (yet). She was stunned to find she had actually grown to expect this treatment. _Do I have to act like her? _Every nerve in her brain screamed in protest to acting so ridiculous.

"Ah –" Kuroko had just realized the same, and stood up – only to be forcibly dragged back down by her roommate.

"I'll go get us food," Mikoto said, looking at anything but their faces, "p-please just sit…" there was a brief pause, before she forced out the last word; "_Onee-sama_!"

Then she left the table in a hurry, face beet red. _It's not like anyone knows it's _you_ who said it! _She tried to console herself. _In any case, I can't let Kuroko do something stupid while she's looking like me! It's better if she just sits there quietly! _Who knew what would happen if she was seen serving her roommate like some private waitress? It had been bad enough when she picked up Kuroko's school bag and handed it to her after breakfast one day – with all the gasps and squeals and reddening faces – and that had happened _once_ (much thanks to Kuroko, who had acted like she was receiving a Grammy, complete with tears and all).

With these useless thoughts in mind, she picked up two empty plates by the buffet and eyed the abundance of food, only to be faced with a new challenge. _What does Kuroko eat?_

Meanwhile, Kuroko was having other concerns.

"Misaka-san, did you hear the rumors about the new hair dresser we might be allowed to visit?"

"Misaka-san, when do you think Matsui-sensei will give us that surprise test he keeps talking about?"

"Oh, I just love that hairclip you use, Misaka-san! Where did you get it?"

These were the kind of inquiries the two second-year girls were throwing at her in rapid succession after Mikoto left, as if her leave had unlocked some kind of frightening cage. It felt like she was surrounded by a whole crowd of people, and not only two. Kuroko had a strained smile on her face and only uttered an 'aah' or 'uum' in between their cheerful chatting; luckily, they didn't seem to notice the lack of answers. In fact, they seemed utterly clueless. _Perhaps this is why Onee-sama chose to sit with them…_

"Misaka-san, how is your philosophy project coming along?" The girl with the braid seemed overly interested in this as she nearly leaned across the table to ask.

"Aaah…" She averted her eyes carefully, hoping to spot something else to turn their attention to, when she noticed a girl sitting a few tables off glancing at her with pink cheeks. Immediately, she was appalled. _Looking at Onee-sama like that in secret! _Literally, her mind exploded. As a result, the ace of Tokiwadai grew completely stiff and red-faced, as if she'd just been caught red-handed observing her secret love; the girl quickly looked away, blushing furiously.

"Misaka-san…?" The girls in front of her had obviously noticed her sudden change in demeanor, and Kuroko snapped out of it.

"Ah – I'm sorry, I was…" she had no idea what to say, and she was saved the need to come up with anything when someone suddenly bumped into her from the side. A few drops of sauce splattered onto her school shirt from above.

"Wha –" Before she could do more than utter that one, unfinished word, the girl turned around with an apology already leaving her lips, but when she saw Kuroko, her eyes grew wide.

"Oh, M-Misaka-san!" She squealed, jumping a step backwards, almost crashing into her friends which stood there. "I-I-I'm so sorry, oh my God, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!" She bowed deeply with a look of utter despair on her face.

Kuroko tsk'ed. "Really, how dense must you be to bump into someone who's sitting still on a chair?"

The girl immediately paled and pulled back: "I-I'm really very sorry!"

"That won't make my shirt clean." Kuroko sighed. "Next time pay attention to where you're walking."

"Hai! Excuse me!" And as if chased by a group of killer bees she hurried off with her friends, looking positively shaken to the core.

"Bad day today, Misakan-san?" Lorene-san smiled brightly.

Kuroko huffed, eying the drops spilled on her shirt. She'd need to change it before going to school. "What a bother… muh?" Someone suddenly tapped something hard against her head; looking up with an annoyed expression, she stared right into her own face, practically radiating fire towards her. The sight was pretty unsettling.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" Mikoto asked, the voice leaving her mouth just barely restrained to hold a level tone. Her hand still held the plate of food on top of Kuroko's head, like a very rude waiter.

Kuroko could swear the temperature in the room had just risen with a few degrees. "Aaah, Ooo – um… Kuroko…" She smiled awkwardly. Trying to pretend she was Mikoto was definitely weird.

"Are you trying to make me look like a stuck-up moron?" She had seen the scene play out when she was coming back from the buffet tables, and clearly, she was not humored.

"O-of course not… heeh." Kuroko forced out a hesitant smile. "I was merely startled…" She had reacted quicker than she'd been able to think. Of course she realized Onee-sama would never have barked at the girl like that. "I am very sorry…"

Lorene-san and Fujitsu-san watched them with puzzled stares, blinking in harmoni.

Mikoto sighed deeply, before finally lifting the plate away from Kuroko's head. It felt like the executioner had just lifted his axe off her neck. Kuroko gave a relieved breath.

"Here." The plate smacked down onto the table in front of her.

"Thanks…" she said, looking down at the food she had been served, and felt her face pale somewhat. _Vegetarian salad?_

"You need to take care of your body, _Onee-sama_." Mikoto said from beside her, and dug into her own plate of pancakes without hesitation.

"Geh – you can't eat _that_!" Kuroko exclaimed.

"Why not?" Mikoto asked, blatantly stuffing a huge bite into her mouth.

Kuroko was appalled. _Sooo evil! _She gritted her teeth. "At least eat with some manners!"

"You're not my mother you know!" Mikoto barked back. "And you've no right to talk after the episode you just created!"

"It wasn't my fault; really, she must have been blind as a bat to not see –"

And they started bickering again, while Mikoto's classmates watched with mildly amused expressions.

XXX

Somehow, they survived breakfast. However, they were stuck trying to pass off as each other for now; this seemed like the safest route, considering their options (even though Mikoto was already highly doubting Kuroko's abilities to do this). Since skipping school meant more trouble than it was worth (and detention to boot), they'd agreed on trying to go. No matter what, until they knew what had happened to them, drawing unnecessary attention was probably unwise.

This explains why Kuroko was heading towards the second-year's classrooms in time for homeroom. This would not draw attention? Well, for now, they hoped not.

_Still, even if we can live with it for now, this has to end. _Kuroko thought so heatedly while walking down the corridors, ignoring all the shimmering eyes and friendly greetings thrown her way like she was both deaf and blind. _It's a long shot, but this may have been caused by an esper with the appropriate ability – I better give Uiharu a message and have her investigate the possibility… _She pulled out the green Gekota cell phone from Onee-sama's skirt pocket, and frowned at it. That's right; they had each other's cell phones now. _If I were to ask too much about this, the reason I am asking would arise some questions hard to answer. _Her frown deepened as she kept walking forward with a quick step, not paying any attention to her surroundings at all. _I may be able to explain the situation to her, but not through a text message. _The possibility of a text from Mikoto saying something like "I am actually Kuroko, we switched bodies during the night" being treated as a joke was too great, and it would be even harder to start explaining afterwards. It was better to do this face to face. Which meant it had to wait until school was over.

She sighed. _I guess it can wait, it's not like it's a life threatening situation. In any case, Uiharu is most likely at school and won't be able to do anything. _She moved to put the phone back into her pocket when –

"Ow!" She collided squarely with someone in the hall and stumbled back. The phone fell to the floor with a clatter as it was knocked out of her fingers on the impact.

"What the – watch where you're going, will you!" An insulted voice barked down at her, and she looked up in surprise. A finely built, longhaired blonde was gazing back at her with an unpleasant look in her eyes. But the look changed just as she watched, a spark of recognition entering those golden star-shaped eyes.

A smile settled on the face instead, but it somehow lacked the warmth of a friendly smile. "Oh, if it isn't Misaka-san. Have your ego finally grown so big your brain is unable to process normal operations?"

Kuroko frowned. _This is… _She had not seen the girl often, but knew how to recognize her. Shokuhou Misaki, the other Level 5 of Tokiwadai with the ability of Mental Out, and Mikoto's self-declared rival.

Though Kuroko did not know her at all, she felt a strong dislike towards the girl who had caused them trouble in the past, even if only indirectly through her ability.

"Queen…" she muttered. The esper with the strongest mental based powers in the entire Academy City. It couldn't possibly be…? Her eyes narrowed slightly.

The blonde girl in front of her snorted, and then smiled; a rather odd combination. "Walking around in your own thoughts is rather dangerous, Misaka-san. I may just stumble upon them one day." She playfully pulled a gloved finger along Kuroko's chin like a superior woman flirting with an inferior man, and then straightened up with a smirk. "Don't go doing anything stupid now."

And with that, she walked off, the white leather bag elegantly hanging off her shoulder and her long, white gloves and stockings standing out amongst the other students.

Kuroko had a sour look on her face as she bent down to pick up Onee-sama's cell phone, unconsciously stroking her chin.

_There is no telling whether she knows anything about this. __I cannot assume things at this point; I need to tread carefully. _There was no doubt that acting out the role of her Onee-sama may be a challenge, and especially so if she kept spacing out thinking of other things. Trying to look for culprits at the same time may prove to be difficult. _I will contact Uiharu later; as of now, concentrating on avoiding trouble as much as possible is of the utmost importance. _She would not like to end up in a duel with someone who wanted to challenge the Railgun or anything of the sort, especially not while lacking her ability.

Mikoto had told her how to act to glide into the midst of Tokiwadai. _'Just smile and don't do anything stupid' _would be the sum-up of her guidelines. Should be pretty easy to follow, starting now. _This challenge is nothing to Shirai Kuroko of Judgment! _Putting on a confident stature, Kuroko continued her trek down the hall.

XXX

Mikoto sighed as she trudged down the hall heading for Kuroko's classroom. This day was already starting out to be a huge bother. There was no way they could start and try to explain this to anyone at school; that much was certain. Even if they _did _manage to sound believable, the chance of them getting sent off to some research facility for testing was too large for comfort. _Not that it's certain something like that would happen, but as long as there are other options, we should try not to involve others…_

At the bus, they'd whispered instructions to each other on what to do to make a believable impression. Luckily most of Kuroko's instructions were easy to follow. 'Act with dignity', 'speak politely', 'smile gently', all that Mikoto could do with ease. However… _She didn't have to add 'don't kick vending machines or lose your temper'! _She huffed to herself. _As if I'm some kind of hooligan – she's so rude! _She pushed open the door to what had been her own classroom all last year, and was met with an onslaught of chattering girls.

"Shirai-san, good morning!" A familiar voice called; Mikoto looked up because of that more than the name spoken. She was far from the level of reacting to Kuroko's name, though she should probably do an effort in that regard.

Seeing the familiar face however, a smile naturally appeared on her face. "Ah, Awatsuki-san! Good morning."

The brown-haired girl smiled and then turned her attention back to her friends, and Mikoto looked around the room. Kuroko had told her where her seat was at; beside the window at the second row from the front. It was quite simple to find, and her eyes soon landed on the desk in question. However, there seemed to already be someone sitting there.

Mikoto hesitated. Did Kuroko remember it wrong?That seemed unlikely, but it may happen of course. But she couldn't very well just walk up to anyone and ask where her seat was at; that was definitely strange. _Only one thing to do I guess…_ She went over to the desk, but the girl sitting in it didn't even turn away from the girl sitting on the desk behind it, obviously too engrossed in her conversation to notice anything else.

"Um…" Mikoto began, wondering for a moment how Kuroko would have acted, and then plunged forward with a smile: "Excuse me; I think you are sitting in my seat."

The girl laughed at something her friend had said, but she didn't turn around or even look at Mikoto. She was surprised, and then confused. _Didn't she hear me? _

"Err, hello…?" She tried smiling innocently. But the girl didn't even look at her.

_Is this the wrong seat after all? _She grew slightly nervous, but then noticed the girl sitting in the seat behind the one Mikoto had been told to sit in; she had shot her a quick look before returning her attention to the other girl. Indeed, there was no way they could have failed to notice by now; Mikoto was standing right beside them, and Kuroko's hair was quite distinguishable, as was her voice. If her conversational partner had noticed, then the girl sitting right before Mikoto should have too. In other words… _She's ignoring me!_

Annoyance coiled in her belly; even flat-out insults were better than not being acknowledged at all. And really, how long was this girl going to pretend she did not see her anyway?

Forcibly reigning in her irritation, she tried again, a bit louder: "_Excuse me_, you are sitting in my seat!"

"Sheesh, relax, will you? I'm just talking." The girl finally turned around, and Mikoto suddenly recognized her; the clingy, needy, _extraordinarily_ irritating girl she'd been assigned to as a 'guide' earlier in the school year: Kuroko's former roommate, Sumone Nelly.

Her lightning struck expression must have been misunderstood by the other girl, as she hmph'ed arrogantly and smirked. "What, you gone mute now? Who'd have imagined the great Shirai-san, the Railgun's private bootlicker, would be so easily flabbergasted?" Her friend snickered as well, though tried to hide it behind a hand; Mikoto was jolted out of her stupor by her words. _Private bootlicker?_

Her fingers shook slightly as if wanting to curl up, but she drew a breath, trying to calm down. She could not imagine Kuroko lose her temper in such a situation. She would probably have delivered an even harsher insult back to Sumone-san, as was the unwritten rule when it came to 'discussion' between higher class girls. And while Mikoto did not usually participate in that kind of duel, she knew how to play the game.

Forcing herself to relax, she let an easy smile enter her face instead, though her eyes stayed completely neutral. "I would think you know all there is to boot-licking, Sumone-san; this spring I had to help Onee-sama clean off your drool on her shoes after the guidance days were over."

Sumone-san smirked. "So you _do_ clean her shoes; my, my, Shirai-san, and here I thought you had at least a touch of elegance."

Several girls around them snickered now, and Mikoto fought the want to bark at her. Instead, she simply kept on smiling, concentrating intently on remaining in character. "Certainly, my elegancy outranks yours by several eons, Sumone-san: We are not talking about just _any_ shoes mind you, but the shoes of the ace of Tokiwadai, Misaka Mikoto Onee-sama." It felt weird to talk about herself in such a way, but she was able to say it just like Kuroko did. "Her shoes hold an entirely different rank from _your _dirty slippers."

"Don't you insult my shoes!" Sumone-san bit out; apparently her pride had been stung. "If we're talking about dirty, I'm sure your filthy lesbian shoes are much worse off than anyone else's anyway!"

Mikoto twitched, but remained outwardly calm. "Oh, but there's a difference between dirty love and pitch-black mud." _I can't believe I just said that!_ Face reddening, she hurried to continue: "Though if I ask her nicely, I am sure I can provide you an opportunity to cleanse Onee-sama's shoes yourself for a touch of glory; what do you say, Sumone-san?" She folded her arms, trying to hide her embarrassment.

The other girl stood up abruptly, red-faced. "Shut up, Shirai-san, or I'll freeze your behind off!"

Mikoto smirked at her; the irritated girl left with a huff, and she could finally sit down at Kuroko's desk. She then let out a relieved sigh. First obstacle was conquered. _Well, as long as it doesn't get any harder than this…_

XXX

By the time of the first recess, Kuroko was already exhausted. It wasn't that she'd _done_ much, really; it was the total difference from her own everyday life that made her so expended. When she'd entered the classroom in the morning, a lot of girls had greeted her; some with bright smiles, others with shy gazes. She'd been overwhelmed by the attention, to be honest. A couple of faces had even turned a lovely shade of red when she sat down in Mikoto's seat, and she felt incredibly wary of her own movements as a result.

She was seated beside Hitomi Aika, a cheerful blonde who served as the school's student council president, and they'd greeted each other in a friendly way, though no more words had been exchanged during the lesson. In retrospect, the atmosphere had seemed kind of strained in the room, though that was most likely due to Kuroko's concentration on staying on track and in character.

The first challenge had been roll call. Being lost in her own thoughts about their current predicament, she hadn't realized the teacher was calling out Onee-sama's name until Hitomi-san leaned over the space between them to poke her in the shoulder. She'd then risen so quickly her chair was knocked over, and several girls in the class chuckled at the display. It was fair to say the entire incident left her rather embarrassed.

_I have to do better, for Onee-sama's sake! _Which, in extension, meant her own sake. She was certain if she slipped up somewhere, Onee-sama would not forgive her anytime soon.

However, her hopeful dreams of impressing her roommate were soon forgotten for the first lesson of the day. Kuroko had always been amongst the top of her class, but even she could not hope to learn a year worth of topics during a single hour. She took notes like crazy and hoped it'd be fine; she'd sooner kill herself than becoming the reason for Onee-sama's grades going down.

When recess arrived at last, she had a moment to breathe and observe her new surroundings. Most of the girls were still in the classroom, chatting about different topics and giggling finely. Compared to her class, this one was quite different; it seemed calmer somehow. Perhaps it was due to the presence of the student council president, but it seemed they were more mature and well-mannered than the first-years. Kuroko had no idea what kind of role her Onee-sama had in the class, and stuck to following Mikoto's instructions; _'Just smile and don't do anything stupid.'_

Now she sat in her seat with a gloomy look on her face; she was so apprehensive of doing something wrong that she'd tired herself out worrying. Hitomi-san was still typing into her laptop and looked rather busy. The other girls were for the most part chatting quietly amongst themselves. _What are they talking about? _Feeling riled up, she was sure they all discussed how obvious she was being. She picked up a word from a couple of girls in the corner, and looked at them. They were watching her, but quickly turned away when she met their gaze, whispering even more intently than before. Kuroko had a nauseating feeling in her stomach, and looked back down into the desk, before standing up. She needed the bathroom.

She more felt than saw the eyes following her out the classroom, and once outside, she released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. _Really, that kind of atmosphere…_

The first thing that met her in the next hall was the squeals of a group of first-years walking by; their cheeks immediately flushed at the sight of her. "It's Misaka-sama!"

Kuroko found herself slightly put off by their longing glances, but smiled uncertainly at them and hurried on down the hallway to the nearest bathroom.

XXX

The first lesson had gone by painlessly; Mikoto had taken notes for Kuroko almost on instinct, already familiar with the topics even if they were presented a little differently. When recess arrived and she no longer had anything to occupy herself with, her thoughts all but forcefully returned to the topic of their current predicament. It was hard to ignore the naked feeling of lacking her ability; she was acutely aware of the fact that she could not tell how many computers were turned on or how many cell phones were in the room; she could not feel the presence of other humans like her magnetic field usually would inform her of, and it all resulted in her feeling trapped in an empty limbo.

Instead of focusing on that, she tried to think about the mystery of how they'd ended up like this in the first place. Numerous unlikely scenarios ran though her head. It all wound down to _who could possibly do something like this? _If there was indeed someone out there who could somehow change someone's bodies around, it seemed to defy all logic. Besides, the person would have to be powerful; so a Level 5? It felt wrong just thinking about it. Basically, there _was _no power that could do something like this. It was completely unexplainable.

She sighed. _In any case, I won't be able to figure it out by sitting here wringing my brain about it. _Or was that Kuroko's brain…? _Ugh…_

It happened without warning.

Someone suddenly stood beside her; she hadn't noticed them approaching, and her eyes widened – but it was already too late, as the person swung their weapon.

_WHAM! _

"Gwah!" She was forcibly knocked off her chair and into the floor, a searing pain erupting from the side of her head.

"Hmph!" Someone made a proud sniff. "I don't know how many times I've tried to hit you these past months, but today I finally gave you in!"

The voice above her was vaguely familiar, as if she had heard it before, some time ago. Rubbing her aching head, Mikoto looked up and saw a tall girl carrying a wooden sword on her shoulder. She had long, brown hair tied up in a ponytail, and her build was fairly athletic. She was already attracting quite a lot attention in the room, though her entrance had apparently been unsurprising. It must be the fact that she had managed to knock down the infamous Level 4 teleporter that made her draw gazes. Even Sumone-san was too shocked to laugh.

And, Mikoto _had _seen this person before; but why would she…?

The girl frowned at her and leaned forward, a menacing look on her face. "What's with that puzzled look? I guess you were really far into your own little world, eh?" She tapped the wooden sword dangerously against her shoulder, and Mikoto gulped.

"Aaah, I was… thinking." She said, smiling hesitantly and trying to ignore the throbbing of her head.

"Really, for the famed Shirai-san to fail to avoid an attack – I guess the world is ever-changing." The girl sighed and straightened up. "At this rate it won't seem impressive even if I brag about it. Why would anyone say in awe that Unabara Ryoko successfully knocked down the Level 4 teleporter while she was dozing off?"

Yes, they had met before. Mikoto's impression of the other girl hadn't been anywhere close to this, though; at the time of them meeting near the start of the school-year, there had been slight… disagreements. Unabara Ryoko was the principal's niece, and had been an unlucky victim of a twisted scheme. Suffice to say, the last time they met, an entire greenhouse had been destroyed.

Still, with her saying something like this… had she really tried to get a hit on Kuroko ever since then? _Maybe it's some sort of pride in being able to say she's struck down a teleporter… _And this time she had succeeded because Mikoto was completely not expecting it, and had no powers to boot.

Her head throbbed again, giving her a slight feeling of déjà vu. _It feels like something similar happened before…_

"Ah, well, I thought it'd be good to finally get you, but I'm somewhat disappointed at how easy it was." Unabara-san sighed, with a fairly content look on her face despite her words. "Yeah, it doesn't feel right at all. How about we nullify this and try again next week?"

_Why is she asking me! _Mikoto had no idea what to say. If this was something the other girl had decided to do for herself, what she said had nothing to do with it, right? Then again, this could possibly be an agreement between her and Kuroko; perhaps a means of exercising their reaction speeds? In lack of anything better to do, she found herself saying: "Aaah, I guess…"

"Really, you sound completely out of it. Well then, you better pay attention next time!" Unabara-san pointed the sword at her, and Mikoto grinned awkwardly.

"I'm already looking forward to it… uh…"

Unabara-san smiled contently, and then turned around. "That's fine. See you, Shirai-san. Stay healthy!"

And she marched out of there, all eyes on her back. Mikoto rubbed her head again, hoping intently that they would be back to normal by next week.

XXX

Kuroko sighed as she wiped her hands clean, and looked at the familiar, yet totally strange image of her Onee-sama in the mirror. She'd more or less gotten used to moving about in a body different than her own; the extra height had been strange at first, but she was starting to appreciate it. Still, the hair so much shorter than her own and the feeling of shorts under her skirt were making her uncomfortable. _Ah but… _she sighed dreamily and ran her hands over her face. _Onee-sama, your smooth skin is so wonderful! _Obviously, her concerns didn't last too long at a time.

"Hah, narcissistic much?"

She jolted out of her thoughts, suddenly aware of the girls who'd entered the bathroom and now stood in a semi-circle around her, trapping her against the sinks. She recognized two of the girls as the ones she'd seen whispering in the corner of the classroom earlier. They were kind of easy to recognize, since one of them adorned a couple of purple earrings. _It's those girls from class – and their friends, apparently. _They were five or six in total – enough to be members of a faction, perhaps.

The one at the front, a haughty looking girl with short, disheveled hair and purple rings dangling from her ears, looked at her with a glare of utter contempt. Even though they hadn't actually done anything yet, this setting was threatening enough. Not that Kuroko lacked confidence, of course; with her ability she could – and her mind instantly froze up as she remembered the result of their trying to use their abilities this morning. Right now, she had nothing. Suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable, Kuroko pressed herself against the sink. She didn't know how to react or what to do, and now she felt utterly naked without her ability to back her up. _They wouldn't try to do anything… right?_

"I heard how you tried to assault the Queen this morning," the girl with the purple earrings said. "You don't do something like that unpunished. Furthermore, you don't look at us and get away with it." She had her arms folded across her chest, as if to give an intimidating look. "We don't care if you're Level 5 or a rotten vegetable; you'll treat us with respect."

_Ah, so they're members of the Queen's faction… wait; I can't even _look_ at them?_ Kuroko was suddenly unsure where to put her eyes; on one hand she'd rather stand up and bite right back, but on the other, she was certain that would create more trouble than necessary. _What would Onee-sama do?_ The image of Mikoto electrifying them all entered her mind; it was utterly useless. _Besides, she'd never do that at school. _Onee-sama's few, but instructive words entered her mind again: _Just smile and don't do anything stupid._

She smiled. "Haah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." She laughed stupidly and rubbed the back of her neck, doing her best to imitate Onee-sama's speech pattern. "There seems to be a misunderstanding though; I just happened to be lost in my own thoughts and bumped into her; it was nothing like an assault."

The girls glared at her, clearly not impressed.

"You're just too deep in your own shit to notice people around you, aren't you?" The short-haired girl said.

Kuroko was determined not to walk into any traps. "I don't know," she said, pretending to be thoughtful, a finger on her chin. "Sometimes I get this strange feeling that people are looking at me, and when I turn around, there's nobody there… maybe I'm paranoid?" She grinned, and sweat-dropped. _What the heck am I talking about?_

"…you really _are_ a dumbass." The girl said, deadpan. Kuroko bristled, but kept her anger in check; she hadn't given them any fuel to work with so far, and if she kept up, perhaps they'd leave her alone. _Does this kind of girls really exist in our school? Not only does she look like a landslide, but she's not acting like a proper lady at all! _Kuroko was slightly perturbed; she had thought Mikoto represented the very pinnacle of 'unlady-like' in Tokiwadai.

Still, she managed to keep her posture unfazed. _I can't let them get to me! _

"Haha, I guess." She straightened, hoping to walk out of there with a nonchalant smile, and noticed in surprise how one of the girls to her right inched back slightly at the movement.

"Still, there's no secret you're just trying to avoid a confrontation." The girl with the purple earrings said. "Are you scared, little Ace-sama? How about you face me properly, you coward!"

_Are these guys retarded? _Kuroko sighed, the stupid smile fading from her face. Her patience was running thin, and keeping up the ignorant attitude seemed impossible.

"You know…" she started, and with the shift to a more serious tone, the insecurity in the girls around her became even more obvious as they shuffled slightly or shot brief looks at each other. "I do not really care about you or your merry little friends. Please behave and go back to your classroom, or there will be consequences." She looked pointedly at the girl, and noticed her confident smile wavering slightly.

A pleased sensation unfolded inside her at the sight. Onee-sama might not be aware, but everyone in Tokiwadai knew who the Railgun was, and the rumors even went as far as saying that when her voice dropped an octave from its usual cheerful level, it was best to back off. While Kuroko was not one for rumors, even she had picked up some from her classmates during the beginning of the year. _And this one rumor actually has some merit. _Being Onee-sama's first choice of a punching bag, Kuroko knew this better than anyone.

"I'm not afraid of you!" The girl in front of her claimed. "We're more than enough to take you out; even a Level 5 –"

"Have you ever seen a railgun?" Kuroko interrupted, and put one hand into her skirt's pocket, finding a fine collection of game arcade coins just like she hoped. She pulled one out, and the atmosphere in the room grew into pure terror; the girls shuffled and backed off, and the one with the earrings stared wide-eyed at the coin between Kuroko's thumb and index finger.

"Y-you wouldn't fire that in _here_…" she said, but her eyes shifted to both sides, possibly contemplating whether to stand her ground or run away.

"Oh really?" Kuroko said, enjoying this more and more. "I am the ace of this school; do you really think they will care about a broken toilet or two?" Her grim smile and proud stature was radiating confidence into the room, and the girl in front of her paled. Most likely, she'd never seen _this_ side of Misaka Mikoto before – as had none, because Kuroko was currently acting the role of her Onee-sama, and she was enjoying playing with the threat of powers she didn't even have far too much to care if she was in character or not.

"S-shit, you're insane!" The girl squealed, still not backing off – Kuroko had to admire her for that. Though perhaps she was just frozen in fear.

"Yeah, I did have a rather sleepless night." She said, and flicked the coin into the air; that's when they decided to scram. As if fleeing for their lives, the girls all exited the bathroom in a hurry, pride and confidence crushed to pieces in front of their fellow schoolmate.

Kuroko caught the coin with a smirk and put it back into the pocket. _You can thank me later, Onee-sama!_

XXX

"You _moron_!" Mikoto exclaimed as she stood up and smacked her hands on the table, drawing the attention of the whole cafeteria. Kuroko smiled stiffly, trying to console her through sheer willpower; _let's not make a big scene right now!_ Even if they were having a table to themselves, the ears and eyes around them had quite the range.

Mikoto did not read her mind however. "What part of _'just smile and don't do anything stupid'_ did you _not_ understand?"

_Uuurrrk,_ Kuroko thought, feeling smaller and smaller in the chair she was sitting in. "Aa-aaah, Oo—nnh—" _This is not going well…_ But between the risk of suffering from Onee-sama's fury and the risk of having their images completely destroyed…

She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Jeez, what's your problem?" She huffed, folding her arms over her chest. "You're not my mother or anything." _Aaah, talking to Onee-sama like this, I am ashamed! _Crying inside, she wanted to pull at her hair in torment. But after having studied her Onee-sama intently for several months, she knew this would be fairly close to her natural reaction. _It is all to remain in character!_

"Ggh." Mikoto gritted her teeth, but Kuroko's sudden change in demeanor got the point through. She couldn't lash out at the other girl here without creating a very awkward situation. Huffing, she sat back down, staring at the noodles in front of her in fuming frustration. "You're still a moron," she said, picking up her chopsticks.

"It was rather intriguing, in fact." Kuroko said, falling back to her usual self when the cafeteria around them started bustling with chatter once more. She remembered the scared looks of the girls around her in the bathroom. "With your words alone, they went docile like lambs, and when I took out that coin they were ready to –"

"You're making me sound completely deranged," Mikoto sweat-dropped at the other's apparent (though subtle) glee. "Besides, you can't just flaunt your power around like a maniac." She waved her chopsticks chastisingly at her roommate. "That's how you make enemies, you know?"

"But Onee—urk," Kuroko abruptly stopped herself by clasping a hand over her mouth; luckily it seemed no-one had noticed, with the high level of chatting in the cafeteria. Still, no need to be too obvious. Mikoto's patience was running thin; not counting the sudden assault from Unabara-san, everything had seemed to go smoothly all day – until she got to know how Kuroko had dealt with that gang of girls. They were nothing more than Tokiwadai's answer to delinquents, really, liking to call themselves servants of the Queen without even being in her faction: Usually Mikoto ignored them, and had never had a single confrontation with any of them since her first year, when she stepped in to stop them from harassing another girl. Of course, she couldn't blame Kuroko for them acting like they did, but the way she had handled it…

"Sheesh, you're an idiot…" She sighed.

"The past is the past!" Kuroko claimed. "Let us not bother with what has already happened and instead look forward to the future!"

"Well, now you sound even more stupid…"

"You need to keep your gaze directed forwards!"

Mikoto looked at her with a bored expression on her face, looking like she might want to comment that statement in some way. It was unsettling being watched by what looked like your own reflection, and Kuroko still wasn't comfortable with it. In contrast, Mikoto had a much larger chance of dealing with that particular aspect due to her practice with seeing the Sisters already. But for normal people, being observed by yourself may be just a bit awkward.

The moment broke up when Mikoto sighed. "Whatever. So after lunch you have English, gym, economics, right? Honestly… we're lucky we don't have any ability development classes today; that would have been hard to explain…" She sighed, and then looked up at Kuroko again, pointedly. "I hope you have control too."

"I have memorized your schedule a long time ago." Kuroko claimed proudly. "There's geography, then gym, and science… and then you have violin recital…" Despite her continued smile, it seemed just a bit more strained.

Mikoto groaned silently. "I wish I never woke up today…"

"Mou, Onee-sama, you give me too little credit!" Kuroko bristled; though truthfully, she had never even touched a violin before. How she was supposed to play like she'd been doing it for years was beyond her. But… "I will certainly not disappoint you!"

Mikoto didn't look convinced, but Kuroko continued: "And you better remember to go to Judgment headquarters after school – Konori-senpai will lynch me if you're not there on time! Don't forget and wander off to an arcade or something!"

"Hai, hai." Mikoto sighed, suddenly feeling awfully heavy despite inhabiting Kuroko's light body. _This is turning out to be more bothersome than I thought… _"Anyway, I guess you haven't found anything?" She lowered her voice just slightly.

Kuroko did not need to ask her what she meant. Her expression turned solemn. "I have not."

Mikoto sighed deeply. "Who the heck would know anything about something as strange as this either way?" She had contemplated to discretely bring up the topic of changing bodies with Awatsuki-san and Wannai-san during one of the recesses, but there didn't seem to be an opening to change the conversation in that direction. She could imagine their puzzled faces even if she did ask though; of course, their answer would be that something like that couldn't possibly happen.

Kuroko gazed down at her food, having no answer to offer except her agreeable silence.

If they could get through school unharmed, they would most likely be able to make some progress in their investigation. That was her only hope.

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong>

I don't know what this is really. How about "exploration of characters in a new and refreshing way"…? Though I guess calling it "new" is… well, writing it is new to me anyway.

It is meant to be enjoyed as an easy-going story for now. I'm trying to pay attention to the way the characters talk, act, socialize, and anything else; it's basically a means to get to know them better, which I started during my writing of ACDI – and it kind of turned into a story of its own in the process. The first chapter was started a year ago; the following chapters are what defines the story, I'd say.

Please tell me what you think as you read; I'm aching to know. This story is not like something I've ever read before myself, so I'm curious how it works out. Is it boring or interesting, funny or stupid?

I wrote this thing so I am completely not the right person to ask for an opinion. I have read it quite a few times already; the first-time "surprise" is kind of gone. If I couldn't stand it I wouldn't have posted it, though. The terror of hearing other people's opinions is what's the scariest about being a writer, I think. Despite that, I keep challenging myself when I write. I must be mad.

Words and terms:

_Onee-sama_ = A formal way of saying "big sister". Usually not used about your _real_ big sister, rather it is used as a respectful way of addressing an older, high-class girl. May also be used as a means to express affection.

_Hai_ = Yes.

_Maa, maa _= Something like "now, now…" (used to calm down).

_Mou_ = A sound uttered to show light irritation or indignation.

**Next time: **More problems


	3. Part 2: More Problems

**Part 2: More Problems**

The second half of the day turned out to be just as bothersome as the first half – if not more, but let's leave that for later.

First, Kuroko had a weird and unsettling experience with Mikoto's private fan club.

The Misaka Mikoto Fan Club was not an official club or faction at their school. It was merely a gathering consisting of Mikoto's most hardcore fans – the ones that would squeal in joy if they stumbled upon a handkerchief she had used or faint from happiness if she happened to brush past them in the hall. They claimed that Misaka Mikoto was not just the ultimate Electromaster, but also the ultimate of all female celebrities in Academy City – a multi-talented genius.

With this mindset, perhaps Kuroko would do well as part of their ranks. However the girl in question did not regard these shallow-seeming girls as anything more than dangerous stalkers of the gross kind.

The club had perhaps 20 or 25 members in total, which would have made it one of the biggest groups at school had it been an official organization.

While most other schools did not have a single celebrity and most certainly would never even dream of making a fan club dedicated to one of the students at school, Tokiwadai was a school for smart and successful girls. This meant there were a lot of girls there who had the drive to start something new and keep it organized – and there were also a lot of celebrities to make such clubs for. In addition to the Misaka Mikoto Fan Club, there was The Queen's Chosen, Hitomi Aika Supporters, and a few others. Apart from the Misaka Mikoto Fan Club and The Queen's Chosen however, most of the clubs had less than 10 members. Some even had only one or two. They all shared the same goal though: To raise awareness of their unmatched idol, fight down bad rumors, and spread good rumors. Of course, sometimes spreading good rumors about their idol meant spreading bad rumors about others. This was particularly the case of the Misaka Mikoto Fan Club and The Queen's Chosen, who were bitter enemies. (As a side note, it is doubtable whether the members of The Queen's Chosen actually had been chosen by the Queen herself. More likely, they merely admired her and were unable to join her faction. The Queen did not seem to mind though, as she let them carry out their misdeeds without interfering.)

Kuroko had just parted ways with Mikoto after finishing lunch. There were still a few minutes until the next class started, so she wasn't in a hurry. She was thinking about the strategy to deploy for the remaining lessons rather than focusing on her surroundings as she walked along the corridor.

Suddenly, someone stood in her path. Pulled out of her thoughts, she looked up at three girls. They might have been first-years or second-years, and they all eyed her eagerly.

"Hm?" Kuroko let out a sound of wonder and slight irritation. She had no choice but to stop since they were blocking the hallway.

"Misaka-sama!" They all bowed their heads in sync, making anyone wonder how long they'd practiced that. "We of the Misaka Mikoto Fan Club have a request for you!"

Kuroko blinked.

There was one important factor to remember when talking about the student body of Tokiwadai. That would be that most of the girls were in fact pretty normal. As such, about 90% of the girls Mikoto (or Kuroko in her stead) passed by in the hallways or the school grounds did not squeal like small kittens or jump into her arms out of joy. Most of them would just greet her in a friendly way, and some didn't even do that.

It was, however, those last 10% that stood out amongst the others by acting rather _intrusive_. This is not to say that all of those girls were part of the Misaka Mikoto Fan Club – but there was a high chance they were. Similarly, not all of the girls in that club acted completely ludicrous, but they were certain to leave an impression of some kind.

Now, as earlier said, Kuroko did not have a good tone with the fan club despite their shared admiration of her roommate.

It seemed to Kuroko that her Onee-sama most of the time preferred to pretend the Misaka Mikoto Fan Club did not exist. Though Mikoto was not alien to being treated as an idol, the fact that someone had made an entire fan club in her honor was quite embarrassing to her. This in turn led to Kuroko disliking the club; however it was not the sole reason. Kuroko had had quite a few run-ins with them already. Back when she first became Mikoto's roommate, a great stir had occurred, and for a couple of weeks she had been terrorized by hate letters in her locker, had a few rude bumps into her in the hallway, and had even been cornered by a couple of members asking what her 'plan' was. She had merely informed them of her status in Judgment and advised them to lie off. The letters had stopped coming after that, but needless to say, she was not best friends with the Misaka Mikoto Fan Club. If anything, they viewed Shirai Kuroko as their prime enemy, being one who had invaded the personal space of their idol and even forced her way into her room. They were quite blind to the fact that Mikoto in most ways accepted this.

This is why Kuroko's confusion quickly turned to irritation, and her clueless expression transformed into a frown.

"What?"

The girls visibly flinched, as if she'd poked them with a hot iron. "A-ah, that is, if we may…?"

As if pinched by their sudden nervousness, Kuroko remembered her place, and realized that Mikoto might very well dismember her were she to start yelling at her fans. Not because Mikoto cared that much about her fans in particular, but because Mikoto would be mad no matter whom Kuroko yelled at while pretending to be her.

So, feeling perfectly fine with her limbs where they were, she withdrew her thorns and sighed. "Fine, but before that, perhaps you should move out of the way. You're blocking the corridor." A few other students who had been walking behind Kuroko down the hall had stopped when she did, since the three girls from the fan club stood in the way. Now they looked pretty unsure about what to do.

Reddening quite a bit, the girls from the Misaka Mikoto Fan Club hurriedly moved over and apologized to the girls who then went past. After a bunch of well-behaved "My apologies!" and "Don't worry!"'s had occurred, the girls returned their attention to Kuroko.

"What did you want?" Kuroko asked, being pretty much uninterested, but at least trying to meet them halfway.

"I know it is out of our league to be asking this, but…" the girl who appeared to be their spokesperson bowed her head nervously as she spoke. "Misaka-san, would you be interested in changing roommates?"

Dead silence followed this question. As if unable to speak, Kuroko stared at the three girls. She was unsure whether she had heard them correctly; however, her mind told her that she had indeed heard the right thing.

They had asked if she wanted to change her roommate. No, they had asked _Mikoto _if she wanted to change her roommate. Out of nowhere, they came with a ridiculous question like that. Kuroko's inner temperature began to rise dangerously. Simply put, that was _not _the right kind of question to ask of Shirai Kuroko, current roommate of Misaka Mikoto and obviously the only one who ever should be. Were they planning to remove Kuroko from Mikoto's presence? Trying to hog her for themselves? Kidnap her to stuff her in a room like a doll for their enjoyment!

Maybe the girl in front of her realized that something needed to be elaborated, as she threw one look at Kuroko's face and then hurried to add: "Ah, you see, there's this new girl who transferred into 1D after summer vacation, she's been having a hard time to fit in. She's an Electromaster too, and since you always seem to argue with your current roommate we thought it may be an idea to switch out..." Her sentence seemed to dwindle into nothing as she spoke. At the same time, the paleness in her face was becoming quite clear.

Kuroko's mind was clouding over with vapor from the boiling water in her body. _To suggest something like this to Onee-sama behind my back—! No, to suggest this at all—! _She was trembling all over, and without thinking, she muttered: "How cunning…"

The girls in front of her slowly backed up. "Aah… Misaka-sama…?"

Suddenly, Kuroko looked up and barked at the girls: "How dare you even think of something like that! To take advantage of her in her sleep, watch her in the shower, stare at her changing clothes – that's not something a civilized person would do!"

"Nah – wha – we never—!" The girls were pretty disturbed. "That wasn't our intention! Misaka-sama—!" They probably didn't even know what they were trying to answer.

Kuroko raised her chin proudly. "I am perfectly happy with the roommate I already have! Furthermore, it would be in your best interest to keep your act clean, or I will personally make sure your club is disbanded!" She might be speaking as herself right now, but that was impossible to know for the three girls.

They gaped in horror. "Aaah, Misaka-sama! We are very sorry! Please forgive us! We will not disappoint you again!" And then, probably thinking it was better to leave before they did more damage to their reputation in the eyes of their idol, they retreated down the hallway in a hurry.

Kuroko heaved for breath in their wake. Then she straightened up and drew a deep breath. "Honestly, they are so tactless."

XXX

Classes 2A and 1A normally had gym at the same time. With Tokiwadai's campus being so huge however, they didn't share the gymnastics hall. In fact, class 1A played football this day, and 2A had track and field.

Kuroko was running along the track field, admiring the feeling of her Onee-sama's body moving so smoothly, and trying to not think too hard about it. After the run-in with the Misaka Mikoto Fan Club, things had continued as with the first half of the day; Kuroko furiously took notes during geography, and Mikoto easily dealt with the English assignments given in Kuroko's class.

When they went to change for gym, Mikoto had casually threatened Kuroko with her very life should she dare to look at her body any more than necessary when changing clothes. So instead of staring, Kuroko had thoroughly enjoyed every moment by the feeling. She could hardly wait to shower afterwards;_ running these hands over this body so elegantly… washing her hair…_Her nose was itching, and she shook her head and concentrated on moving her legs.

There was a speeder in this class, and she was outrunning all the other girls with ease; still, there were many girls who didn't have any powers to aid them in this kind of event, so at least her lack of powers wouldn't give her away in this kind of setting. She was keeping a brisk pace alongside the fastest girls of the class; surprisingly, Hitomi-san was one of them, a concentrated look on her face as she jogged along the track, huffing for breath. Kuroko was tempted to try and talk to her, but didn't know what to say. Did she and Onee-sama talk much anyway?

At the very least it seemed like the girls she had confronted in the bathroom earlier weren't present for gym, so she didn't have to worry about ending up in another hassle.

"Hey, Misaka, get your speed up!" The female teacher suddenly called from the side of the track field, where she stood with a megaphone in her hand. She didn't need that to make herself heard over the track though, so it was merely hanging from her arm like a superfluous accessory.

"Aaah… yes!" Kuroko spluttered, and upped her speed a little. _What's with that woman? I am already running faster than half of the class – is that not enough?_

"Come on, speed up, speed up! Don't tell me you've grown lazy in one week!" The woman was shouting clearly, and Kuroko gritted her teeth and upped her speed even more. "Remember to breathe! In, out, do it right now! Come on!" The woman continued to cry, the megaphone at her side glaring at them with its uselessness.

Kuroko gasped in a lungful of air and concentrated on her breath as her feet hit the soft concrete with every step. Suddenly, there was a flurry of motion as someone passed by the throng of girls with inhuman speed and nearly knocked them over with the repercussion; Kuroko squinted at the whirl of wind assaulting them.

"Good work Tinata!" The gym teacher shouted at the blur. "Keep it up and you'll be breaking the school record in no time!"

Kuroko huffed. _Showing off like that…_

"Misaka, why are you slacking off?" The woman yelled, jolting her out of her thoughts once more. "Keep your legs moving, come on! Left, right, left, right!"

_Guah –_ _What's with this?_ Kuroko gritted her teeth again and pressed on. _She's already got a speeder here; why is she nagging at me like that? And what about all these slowpokes? _She threw a look backwards, and was surprised to see a lot of the slowest girls trying to up their speed as well; determined, sweaty faces glaring at Kuroko's back. Her eyes widened slightly. _Are they…_

"Hey, Misaka!" The teacher crowed. "You can't run if you don't see where you're going! If you slow down, I'll give you ten more rounds as punishment!"

_What the heck? _Kuroko quickly did as she said, and tried to push her speed even more. Even though she was annoyed at the constant nagging, her determination blossomed like a poisonous plant in the jungle. _Even if you force me to run for ten hours straight, I am powered by my love for Onee-sama! There is no way I, Shirai Kuroko, will grow tired as long as I inhabit this body! _With this scary conviction in mind, Kuroko pressed herself even further.

Meanwhile, Mikoto had other troubles.

Class 1A played football in today's gym class. And she was positioned as a center-fielder. This was probably with Kuroko's ability in mind; however as of now it resulted in a whole lot of running for Mikoto. Not that she was worrying about that in particular.

_What's with this! _She skidded across the grass to capture the ball from one of Kuroko's classmates, but her legs didn't even reach. _Kuroko is so short!_ She gritted her teeth and stood up, racing after the other girl with a scary expression on her face.

"Waaah!" The girl cried, and then she suddenly tripped.

"Hah, got you!" Mikoto grinned as she took hold of the ball and sprinted down the field towards the goal of the opposing team. She jumped over a barricade of mean-looking grass that suddenly sprouted from the ground and dodged a hand that reached out for her shoulder – she was ten meters from the goal, and three girls were charging her, with no teammates in sight. _Right then! _She stepped forward and kicked the ball with all her might, sending it flying right between their heads and careening towards the goal, nimbly missing the keeper so far out and heading for the net – _FWOOSH_ – A gust of wind appeared from nowhere and sent the ball off its track, hitting the metal beam and bouncing off above the goal.

"What?" Mikoto stared at the result of her bravado with letdown surprise. The teacher, who also acted as the judge, blew her whistle.

"Shirai-san!" Awatsuki-san was running up towards her while the other girls prepared for the keeper to start the game again. "Shirai-san, are you okay?"

Mikoto glowered at the goal, before realizing the girl was talking to her; "Huh? What?"

"Ah, no, it's just…" Awatsuki-san smiled a bit awkwardly, "usually playing ball games with you is no fun at all, seeing how you just teleport everything into goal… but today you're not…" Her voice dwindled, and she smiled shyly.

Mikoto's eyes widened. _That's right! Kuroko would – with her ability…_ Of course, this being Academy City, and Tokiwadai middle school at that, using your powers during a simple ball game was a matter of course. However Mikoto currently found herself in the predicament of having no powers at all. Even if she still _had_ her electric ability though, it was of limited help during sports. Electrifying the opposing team was considered foul play, and using iron sand to slash apart the goal or the ball itself merely lead to the cancellation of the game rather than her team's victory (of course, she knew this because she had already tried – nearly scaring her classmates to death back in her first year). She could cover the ball with iron sand and fire it like a railgun, but that was a dangerous way of scoring a goal. Moving the goal itself with magnetism was also pretty complicated, though possible.

What she normally did use her ability for however, was making a static field around herself that would sting anyone who came near (and this usually resulted in her being a complete team all on her own, as nobody wanted to tackle her). But as of now, she couldn't even do that.

"Shirai!" The teacher suddenly came trudging over to her with a scary look on her face.

Mikoto hastily bowed her head, having already re-acquainted herself with the gym teacher she had had last year. "I'm very sorry, Genkun-sensei!" Though what she was sorry for, she didn't know. Perhaps she was merely apologizing for all the trouble she had unwittingly caused during her first year.

The woman with the strict look stopped and glared at her. "What are you apologizing for? I wanted to praise you for taking on the challenge of not using your ability for once. You'd do well gaining a bit of muscle on those scrawny legs of yours!"

"Hahahaaahaii," Mikoto laughed, rubbing her neck awkwardly. "I thought so too, sensei!"

"Just don't overexert yourself." Genkun-sensei said, and then added in a mutter: "I wouldn't want to have to carry you to the infirmary later." She then blew her whistle again to let the game continue.

At the same time, Kuroko kept pushing herself to the limit. Whether the teacher was still nagging at her or not was not important at this moment; now, her mind had been hijacked by some scary goal of gaining the fastest possible time on this track. Perhaps it was the fact that she was lacking her ability and thus forced to run that had awoken some kind of feral instinct, but there was no doubt Shirai Kuroko was as of this moment not acting logically at all.

Her borrowed legs and arms went like steam engines, her lungs almost hurting from breathing.

The speeder was not the topic here; she was like another being from space, and far outside Kuroko's reach. No, she had somehow ended up racing one of the other girls in the class, a shorthaired girl with an athletic build, and quite possibly part of the school's track team.

The girl was increasing her speed evenly with Kuroko, seemingly without any trouble at all.

_So persistent! _Kuroko gritted her teeth to ignore the pain from her lungs, and kept speeding up almost impossibly. If she were to trip now, she'd certainly break her neck from the impact with the ground, but that was not in her worries.

The teacher was calling out; it turned to mere noise in Kuroko's ears as she noticed the girl beside her on the track field increasing her speed again. _What are you—! _She forced her legs to run even faster; they were already half a round in front of the rest of the class at this point. While the speeder kept flashing past them in round after round, Kuroko and the other girl was having a private war all on their own.

Kuroko shot her opponent a quick look. She had a fairly concentrated look on her face, and breathed evenly through her mouth. She was sweating, but looked far from ready to give in, with a steady gaze staring straight ahead.

Kuroko looked back ahead as well, and worked to push her body even more. _I'll show you the glory of the ace of Tokiwadai! _Perhaps she was growing sick. In any case, she felt like she couldn't slow down at all while inhabiting Onee-sama's body; as if giving up would be a horrible defeat.

She shot another look sideways. The girl she was wordlessly racing still kept a nice pace, and didn't seem bothered at all. Her legs kept moving gracefully, and her upper body was straight and proud.

Kuroko gritted her teeth even tighter. _I am not losing to you! _She upped her speed again; they were catching up with the slowest of the other girls now, about to overtake the entire class with a whole round. They passed by the teacher, yelling something from the sideline.

_I… can't… lose! _Kuroko stared straight ahead, trying to push Mikoto's body beyond human limits. _I… won't… lose!_

Her step suddenly overtook the other girl, and she felt a moment of triumph at finally outrunning her –

_WHOOOOSH! _The speeder charged past them again, and the wind in her wake knocked Kuroko right over. She hit the track with her shoulder first and rolled over several times before ending up face down on the surface.

There she lay, gasping for air. Arms and legs burning like oil on fire, her head spinning around in circles, and her shoulder aching. She had no energy to even move a finger, lying flat on the ground like a used rag. _I – can't – breathe. _She gasped down oxygen in mouthfuls like a stranded whale. The teacher was yelling again, but Kuroko couldn't make out her words through the pounding blood in her ears.

XXX

"Aaah, I'm beat." Mikoto sighed and rested her forehead against the wall of her shower stall, hot water running down her exposed back and splattering to the floor. "Really, why did they force me to run back and forth like a maniac…?" She sighed again. "I feel like I was the ball out there…"

"Haaah..." Kuroko agreed from the stall beside hers, drawing a shaking breath. "I have never been so worn out in my life…"

"Well, you must have set a world record in stupidity." Mikoto commented, the irritation easily discernable in her voice. "Running till you nearly pass out? Sheesh, you're a moron." She'd even had to help her underclassman into the shower since it seemed like she'd collapse sideways without support. That had been embarrassing enough, since everyone thought it was Mikoto who was having problems walking straight ahead.

"I forgot to breathe…" Kuroko sighed in shame as she reached for the shampoo with fingers trembling from exhaustion.

"How the hell can you _forget to breathe_?"

Kuroko had no answer to that. After her collapse, the teacher had yelled at her for acting ridiculous, and told her to sit and watch for the rest of the period while the speeder and the rest of the class ran on for round after round.

Still, it had been surprisingly easy to outrun the other girls. She knew her Onee-sama was quite athletic of course, with the various wrestling techniques as well as punches and kicks in her arsenal, and she was usually among the top ten in all gym contests at school. In that sense, maybe it wasn't so surprising after all. Although Kuroko was proud of her own fitness, having the ability she did it came natural to her to move long distances using teleportation rather than her own two legs.

Perhaps she ought to rethink that habit. _To think I collapsed like that… Did I learn nothing in Judgment training? Tsk. _Mentally clicking her tongue, she carefully washed the shampoo from Mikoto's hair.

Sighing from the neighboring stall, Mikoto continued: "You really ought to use your legs more often. Honestly, using your ability for every single game – isn't that just a waste of time? Sports should be about using your body, not your mind." She picked up Kuroko's shampoo from the shelf beside her as she talked, frowning at the pink bottle. _How much does she need of this for her hair? _She opted for a handful.

"Ara, Onee-sama, I think you'd get a lot of angry athletes on your neck for that single comment… I do believe there is a certain amount of brain activity involved with sports after all." Kuroko was subtly running her hands over Mikoto's body, soaping it in with a lightly scented body wash that tickled her nostrils pleasantly. It felt calming to her tired being.

Busy shampooing her way too long hair, Mikoto reddened and huffed. "You know what I mean. And snip the _Onee-sama_."

"Ah, right – I forgot for a moment." Though how she could forget while standing in this stall, freely able to do _this _and _that_ to Onee-sama's body without her even knowing…

As if she'd read her mind, Mikoto violently kicked the wall separating the stalls. "You're not doing anything else than washing off in there, you hear?"

"Ah, of course not." Kuroko answered, a sweat-drop travelling down her temple. _Even if she's not a Level 5 at the moment, she's still scary…_ Mikoto did not need electric sparks flying from her bangs to exert a feeling of danger. Again, her various kicks and punches came to mind. Some may find it unfair for an esper so strong to also know martial arts, but Kuroko found Onee-sama's multi-talented nature only added to her charm. Though her violent nature did not.

Mikoto huffed again, washing out the soap from her hair. "Honestly, your perverseness is starting to scare me. It's as if…" she looked down briefly, and the words died in her mouth.

"Ah, that's just because you're too bashful to see that our feelings actually mirror each other perfectly." Kuroko said importantly, wiping the soap off her arms with gentle movements.

"I see." Mikoto said solemnly, and Kuroko's mind halted all processes.

"Y-you do?" Her voice (or rather Mikoto's voice) was almost shrill with disbelief.

"You're always commenting my chest and how it's so 'subtle'," Mikoto said, sounding rather levelheaded, as if she was talking about the weather. "And now I see why."

"And why would that be?" Kuroko asked, uncertainly. Somehow it sounded like they were talking about different things.

"Your less-than-A-cup size actually rubs your mind constantly, doesn't it? In order to ignore your own lack of size, you keep nagging at mine instead…" A somewhat smug tone entered her voice.

"O-Onee-sama!" Kuroko was appalled.

"Your pride in this topic must be severely lacking. Is there even a point in using bras with this kind of chest?" Mikoto was measuring the breasts on her current body with her eyes – though calling them breasts yet was actually a bit of an exaggeration. "Who knew… Heh. Heh. Heh." Her laugh was reminiscent of some evil over-lord finally getting his way after beating the hero. Perhaps it was the strangeness of inhabiting another body that was finally getting to her.

"Onee-sama, please don't enjoy my body in this way!" Kuroko banged the shower stall wall desperately, and several girls outside threw them odd looks; not hearing their conversation, but still seeing the ace of Tokiwadai and her smug roommate having a go at each other as usual.

XXX

The last period of the day.

With it being Friday and all, you'd assume the level of activity was dwindling. But this is Tokiwadai. The level of activity here is as high any moment of any day as that at the Olympics.

Mikoto sighed deeply. _I can't wait to get out of here. _More than ever she looked forward to leave school and escape to somewhere safe. _Maybe I'll read some manga… then again, seeing a Judgment member doing something like that may cause a stir… _Besides, Kuroko had explicitly told her she needed to go to Judgment work in her stead. Mikoto sighed again, before trying to pay attention to what was going on in front of her.

Class 1A had a group activity in economics. The subject was to plan and document the creation of an imagined business dealing in different areas of medicine, based somewhere in Africa. Of course, as you might expect of Tokiwadai, they combined courses to make them most effective. This would be math, economics, geography, science and leadership all rolled into one. And it was all in English.

To any other middle school student this might seem like getting the task of translating an Ancient Egyptian text into comprehensible Japanese using a Russian dictionary, but the girls in Tokiwadai had the brains to cope.

One group of five girls was sitting by a round table in the 'free talk' section of the library with a bunch of encyclopedias and a couple of laptops in front of them.

"We should base our business in Botswana, and focus on researching HIV and Aids…"

"Hmm, its economy has been growing well the last years; it might be a good spot to start up…"

"But there is hardly any ground for researching new medicines, with it being nearly 70% desert…"

Mikoto was having a hard time to pay attention. To be frank, she was just a bit bored, as she had been through this last year already. _Then again, I guess it's good with some repetition…_ _and it _is _kind of refreshing to work with someone who doesn't look scared whenever I open my mouth. _Granted, her own classmates had grown into seeing her as a fellow student most of the time, but it still felt awkward whenever someone cracked a joke and then looked at her in alarm, as if she was going to slap her for laughing.

_Still… _She glanced sideways at the companion sitting as number two to her left. The girl's shoulder-length, black glossy hair and her pompous nose seemed like it radiated annoyance. Though Mikoto was not the kind of person to keep a grudge on someone for a considerable length of time, the early weeks of this school year still beat around in her mind as a fresh reminder as to why she preferred staying alone rather than socialize too much with the first-years.

"What are _you_ looking at, Shirai?" The girl in question asked venomously, glaring at her all of a sudden.

"Eh?" Mikoto was perplexed, not having realized she'd been staring so obviously.

Sumone-san sneered. "Are you day dreaming about your _Onee-sama _again?"

"N-no way—!" Her protest may have come off as slightly panicky.

"Trying to get by with not paying attention then are you? You high and mighty Judgment folks just hope everyone else does your work for you."

_How is that even…? _Mikoto didn't know how to answer, and ended up staring at her stupidly, mouth half-open.

"Shirai-san, Sumone-san, do you have any ideas?" One of the other girls turned towards them, oblivious to their exchange or perhaps trying to interrupt it in a subtle way.

Mikoto turned to look at the table and tried getting back on track. "Ah, um, well, Botswana might be good with their developing economic situation…"

"As if you know anything about that." Sumone-san snorted. "I bet you don't even know who Seretse Khomo is."

"The first democratically chosen president of Botswana?" Mikoto asked, looking at the map in one of the encyclopedias in front of them. "I think his name was Khama, actually…"

Sumone-san threw an annoyed look at the map as well, as if she thought Mikoto might have read the answer off of there.

"Shirai-san, you know a lot about Botswana?" Another girl on their group suddenly asked her.

Mikoto reddened slightly. "It's not like I know a lot, but my dad—" she stopped, suddenly aware that she'd been about to tell them her father had been there during his travels, and that she did not know enough about Kuroko's family to even pretend it was right.

"Wow, we'll definitely pick Botswana then!" One of the girls said excitedly, and the others nodded in agreement. Mikoto felt slightly guilty for a moment. _Perhaps I should suggest to Kuroko she read up on Botswana…_

XXX

While Mikoto was having a rather easy time impressing Kuroko's classmates, Kuroko was not doing so well over in Mikoto's class.

The last period of the day was science. Science was a huge topic, and one of the most important in Academy City. Kuroko usually had no troubles with this subject, but there was no way she could learn something which she had not studied at all in the space of a few minutes – something she was desperately trying to do right now. Halfway into the lesson the teacher, Matsui-sensei, suddenly announced he would be questioning them in the quantum field theory as a surprise quiz. As of this moment he had already started questioning them, and Kuroko was feverishly trying to do some last-minute reading up on the subject.

'_m__ is the particle's mass, __V__ is the applied potential, and __ψ__(__x__,__t__)__ denotes the wavefunction.' That doesn't help me at all! It's Greek! It might as well be Polynesian for that matter: I don't know what it means!_ She had studied a lot of different topics in regards to her ability, but that didn't mean she knew all about the quantum field theory. It was a vast topic to cover, and usually so advanced it didn't even appear as a topic until University level. _Reading a bunch of random things won't help either way. What exactly is he going to question me about? Guuuh! _She resisted the urge to claw at her head.

"Misaka." The teacher had turned his attention on her.

"H-hai!" She exclaimed nervously, jolting up from her seat and nearly knocking the chair over as a repetition of this morning.

"Let's see, I wouldn't want to make it too easy for you, but…" The teacher looked down into his e-pad and frowned, and Kuroko felt just slightly more nervous. The teacher gave a small sigh for some unknown reason. "Well, how about you explain to us what the quantum Hall effect is?"

There was a surge of expectant whispers from the girls around her; Kuroko stood there feeling like a fraud of a solo artist who had just been forced to actually sing instead of lip-syncing. The spotlight was on her, the audience waiting; the music just about starting to play.

_I-I have no idea._ She was terror-struck; there was no way she could even start to guess. Being a first-year, they had barely started discussing the quantum field theory at all; now she was suddenly asked to answer something impossible. _The quantum Hall effect? What is that? Some kind of huge gathering of quantum's in a hall? What would the effect of that be? _The nervousness was collecting in her gut and made her unable to think at all. Not only were Mikoto's classmates all waiting eagerly for her answer, and the teacher too, but Onee-sama was the Level 5 Electromaster, and ranked 8th in Tokiwadai – she would have been able to answer this easily.

_I can't just make up some random answer and ridicule Onee-sama in front of all these girls! _She was sweaty, her fingers curling unsurely. _Stupid Kuroko! The quantum Hall effect; have I heard of it before? I have, haven't I? Start with the basics; a quantum is the minimum amount of any physical entity involved in an interaction. Great, now what? Hall… Hall… it's a name, right? I am not called Shirai Kuroko for nothing, am I? _Her mind was making loops inside her head, making no sense at all.

"Misaka, are you feeling all right there?" The teacher suddenly asked, looking a bit worried.

"Eh?" She stiffened, sweating even more. "I'm f-fine…" Though when thinking about it, she was feeling rather unwell.

"You don't look well at all. Hitomi, please take her to the infirmary."

"H-hai!" The blonde girl to Kuroko's right smiled brightly and stood up.

Kuroko immediately paled even more. "Ah – um, I'm perfectly fine –"

"I will not have you pass out in class because of fever or something; you head right over to the infirmary this instant." Matsui-sensei suddenly looked awfully strict up there.

"H-hai…"

"Let's go, Misaka-san." Hitomi-san smiled brightly at her and turned to leave; and Kuroko found herself following the student council president out of the classroom like a duckling to its mother.

XXX

Back in the library, Mikoto was actually having a lot of fun with the other first-years despite the fact that Sumone-san was part of their group. When they had finished outlining the hierarchy of their imagined company and made up some of their business partners, they only had about ten minutes left of the session. Since they were entering a new portion of the work, they opted for packing up and continue on Monday. Feeling a sudden stroke of panic at the prospect of being stuck in Kuroko's body even at that time, Mikoto volunteered to put the encyclopedias back in place to get a few minutes to compose herself.

_Guh – they're heavy. _Carrying four huge books at once, and wondering why the school hadn't bought the digital copies for their laptops and e-books instead, she found the right shelves and put them back in place one by one.

Wiping her brow after putting the third one away, she looked down at the last book and frowned. _Where did this go again? _She looked left and right down the shelves in front of her, looking for the right spot.

"I believe that one goes here." A pleasant voice suddenly came from behind her, making her jump. A hand pointed up at a free spot above her head.

"Aah, right." Trying to hide her sudden surprise, she put the book in place between two other large encyclopedias and then breathed out. "Thanks," she started and turned around, only to come face-to-face with someone she did _not _want to meet.

The blonde girl with white gloves and stockings and a small shoulder-bag in place of her Tokiwadai schoolbag, looked at her curiously.

"Hm? Something wrong?" This innocent sounding question was just as sickeningly sweet as the rest of her attitude.

"Queen…" Mikoto muttered.

"My, you know who I am? Well, I'm sorry to say you won't win a Nobel Prize for that knowledge." The Queen, otherwise known by her actual name,Shokuhou Misaki, giggled softly at Mikoto. Many students at their school hardly even knew the Queen's face, but Mikoto knew her well enough. That innocent nature was just a cover for a devil personality. She had a habit of baiting Mikoto into pointless duels of words, and whenever they met, Mikoto felt like she'd been ridiculed by someone vile and tasteless.

Needless to say, her barbs instantly sprouted at the sight of her, and she crouched slightly, as if preparing for a fight. Not to say she wanted to fight the other girl, but that was the automatic response to being so suddenly faced with someone who insisted on being her rival.

"Say, what's up with that kind of attitude towards someone who just helped you out?" The Queen said pointlessly, stroking her hair. "It's not that it's any of my business, but if you're not feeling well you should probably head over to the infirmary."

"As if you care about that." Mikoto said.

The Queen blinked. "Um, excuse me, but who…?"

It dawned on Mikoto then; _she doesn't know it's me. _Of course not; she did inhabit the body of her roommate right now. There was no way the other girl could know, unless she was the one who had caused this – which she doubted was the case. Mikoto's electromagnetic abilities could also be used as a defensive means against mental abilities. If the Queen was behind this, she must have gotten into their room during the night when they were asleep and her defenses were down, which was absurd in more ways than one. In the first place, Mikoto doubted she would have played innocent in such a setting; more likely, she would have thrived on their situation and made sure they knew it was her doing.

_That's pointless thinking. I already knew she wasn't the one behind this. _She didn't know when it happened, but she had already knocked away the possibility of this being esper work. More likely, it was a mental condition or…

That was when an idea that was both hopeful and terrifying suddenly struck her: Could the Queen use her ability to change the two of them back? Assuming this condition was somehow mentally based – well, it was impossible to know after all, so maybe… and right now, Mikoto did not have her electromagnetic barrier up…

She slowly swallowed a lump in her throat. _But asking her something like that…_ she didn't know if she could trust the other girl that much. What if she decided to play with their minds instead, altering their personality or memories or something equally unpleasant?

She gritted her teeth, just as the girl in front of her suddenly seemed to realize something.

"Oh! You… you're Misaka-san's roommate, are you not?"

Mikoto was put off, not having expected her to know.

"Well well, how pleasant…" the Queen smiled widely. "It always puzzled me how anyone could live with a hothead like her; what kind of person could that be?"

"Gh – as if you're one to talk!" Mikoto countered, feeling her pride stung. "At least I don't mind control my roommate!"

She realized too late that she'd spoken out of character; however the Queen didn't seem to notice. Her face had suddenly changed into one of disgust, and Mikoto flinched and pulled back, suddenly very aware of her own defenselessness right now.

"Well, with such a despicable attitude I think I'll just make sure you forget every detail you know about me." The Queen said. "Please give my regards to Misaka-san, will you?"

Mikoto closed her eyes tightly, chastising herself for being so stupid (hotheaded, an inner voice ridiculed her), waiting for whatever would happen… however…

"What…?" The Queen sounded surprised.

Mikoto slowly opened her eyes, seeing the other girl's shocked expression turn into a sneer.

"What is up with you; why can't I…" She halted, pulled back slightly, and her eyes darted from side to side; obviously, she didn't want to admit what had happened. But Mikoto understood immediately.

The Queen was unable to affect her with her power.

This was good, all things considered, but also quite puzzling.

The Queen huffed and stroked her hair in a confident gesture. "Whatever. Don't come near me again or I will have you clean the entire library floor with your tongue."

With that, the pompous girl turned around and walked off with obvious put-on calmness.

Mikoto let out a sigh of relief. _She's definitely not the culprit behind this. _That was good, she guessed, but at the same time left her wondering even more what had happened to them. _Why didn't it work? Don't tell me this condition is more complicated than we thought!_

XXX

Kuroko's temperature was forcefully taken by one of the nurses that were oozing with authority. She was acquainted with these nurses from before, having visited them earlier in the school year. The nurse checked the temperature and shook her head, clicking her tongue.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Misaka-san. Are you sure you're not just moody?"

Kuroko laughed stupidly. "Aah, I guess maybe I was imagining things…" _Really, I didn't even _think _I was sick! _There was no way she could have explained this to anyone without things turning awkward though; even Hitomi-san… she glanced over at the girl with the glasses, feeling troubled.

"Well, that's good then!" The girl in question beamed at her from the side of the bed she was sitting at, seemingly carefree as anything.

Kuroko envied her.

"Perhaps you are starting to have a case of PMS; you are around the right age…" the nurse said thoughtfully while putting away the thermometer. Kuroko's face froze up, and Hitomi-san glanced sideways, looking just slightly uncomfortable.

The nurse turned to look at them squarely. "You do know what that is, right? Pre-menstrual—"

"Hai, we know what it is!" Hitomi-san hurriedly said, bowing her head almost apologetically.

Kuroko swallowed dryly. _Could it be… Onee-sama is about to… _the thought was making her feel faint after all. Even if the reason for her being sent here was not connected to that, it wasn't unthinkable that Mikoto may be nearing in on that part of puberty...

"Well then," the nurse said, putting her hands on her hips, "if you feel any change, come back at once. I'll have my butt kicked if I let you pass out in the middle of the corridor or something, so don't you dare put it off till later!"

Kuroko gave an awkward grin as she stood up and bowed her head slightly. "Thank you very much!"

The nurse followed them out with a strict look on her face, and Kuroko gave a sigh of relief once the door closed behind them. "Really, those nurses are scary…"

"Haha..." Hitomi-san said.

_Still… if Onee-sama is really at _that _stage already… _Kuroko frowned in thought. _…we'll need equipment to deal with it, and – _her eyes widened suddenly –_ is this the time to get those famous one-time-a-month pair of panties…? _Her heart was beating harshly all of the sudden. _I can't let her choose them for herself, or she'll most likely go with something like Gekota or another childish figure! _Her brain worked hard as she followed Hitomi-san down the hallway. It occurred to her that this may be the perfect chance. If they were still stuck in each other's bodies when school ended, Mikoto would have to go to Judgment work, and Kuroko would be free to do whatever she wanted. _Even visiting a lingerie shop! _Her face felt sweaty, her fingers twitching from excitement. She knew just the place to visit, and just the colors to look for…

"Oh – Misaka-san, Hitomi-san!" A cheerful voice suddenly called out for them, pulling Kuroko out of her thoughts. She looked up to the side, while Hitomi-san turned her head in the same direction. Coming at a light skip towards them, smiling brightly and waving a hand in the air, was someone Kuroko recognized well, but the sight was pretty… disturbing.

Asanuma Reiko was bouncing towards them with a beam on her face.

Asanuma-san, the self-absorbed, arrogant, too-good-for-you third-year who had been quite harsh in her challenge of Hitomi-san regarding the position as student council president earlier in the year (despite them secretly being a couple), was currently smiling happily and skipping towards them like a kid happily greeting her mother after the first day at school.

Kuroko felt a chill run down her spine.

"Aaah, Asanuma-san…" Hitomi-san hesitated slightly, her eyes darting right and left, as if looking for eavesdroppers. "What are you doing here in the middle of class?"

The girl with long, black hair that always looked like it was freshly showered and with a body that would be envied by many a model, stopped in front of them and beamed happily.

"The teacher said 'You're acting funny, Asanuma, go get your head checked at the infirmary!' or something of the like, so I am on my way there… what about you two?" She smiled at Kuroko, who felt greatly unsettled.

"Well, um, the teacher thought Misaka-san looked a bit pale, so…" Hitomi-san threw Kuroko a quick glance, as if she couldn't stand to watch her for more than a second at a time.

Kuroko frowned, sensing something off-key. She did not exchange words with these girls very often, but she did now and then get invited for a shopping trip by Hitomi-san, and had greeted Asanuma-san more than once since all the rattle this spring – seeing them like this was completely backwards. Asanuma-san's biting, arrogant personality with a hint of idiotism seemed completely gone, and Hitomi-san was acting rather shy and quiet, as if…

Her eyes widened suddenly. _Don't tell me—!_

"Oh my," Asanuma-san said worriedly, coming closer to put a hand on Kuroko's forehead. "Are you sick, Misaka-san? You mustn't strain yourself too much!"

Kuroko stared at her, feeling the incredible feeling grow inside, until…

"Hitomi…san?" It was too surreal, but it was the first possibility that dropped into her mind.

The girl in front of her pulled back with a puzzled gaze. Then she suddenly giggled. "Oh my, seems like I was being too obvious there, huh? As expected of Misaka-san, to notice right away!"

Kuroko found her throat had trouble to convey speech, so the other girl continued instead, scratching her cheek: "I don't really understand it, but this morning something very weird happened…"

XXX

Kuroko had no idea what to think anymore. As the final bell rang, she walked out of the classroom in a daze, heading for the lockers where she and Onee-sama had agreed upon meeting before going to each their own destinations.

_There are other people in the same situation as us? _It was a frightening thought. Once more, she recalled her conversation with Hitomi-san:

"We showered and dressed just like usual, and then, when we were about to leave… well, suddenly we were like this." Hitomi-san had smiled almost apologetically (though with Asanuma-san's face it looked pretty disturbing)."I can't say I understand what happened, but I tried to ask the teacher and well, he looked at me strangely before asking me to sit down. I didn't think anyone would believe us…"

"What did you do right before it happened?" Kuroko asked.

"Well, we got dressed…" She looked fairly uncertain.

"That's not it. Something must have been the trigger for it to happen." Kuroko put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "Anything like… a touch, perhaps, or…" She paused, feeling a chill run down her spine all of the sudden. No… no way…

"Oh! Well… we always kiss before going to school. Do you think that's the reason?" Hitomi-san made a puzzled face.

Back in present time, Kuroko felt a rather large strain settle on her system. _No way…_ Did Hitomi-san and Asanuma-san really change bodies as well? Or was this their form of a joke?

But assuming they were telling the truth… if _that_ truly had anything to do with their situation… not that she thought it had, but…

_I… I can't possibly tell Onee-sama! _Her insides twisted in terror. Just the thought of telling her roommate about this sent shivers up and down her spine. If she were to do that, she would like to write her last will first. _No, there's no way the kiss had anything to do with it! _She desperately tried to find another reason. Could there be anyone with this kind of ability? Would it be possible to find someone like this in the database?

_I should probably contact Uiharu and have her check it just in case! _She pulled out Mikoto's cell phone, quickly navigating through the address book to Uiharu's number. Punching the call button, she put it to her ear while ignoring a gang of first-year girls throwing some badly hidden glances her way. The phone gave the call tone a couple of times, before –

"Yes, Uiharu Kazari here~" A cheerful voice greeted her ear.

"Uiharu, it's me–" She realized what she was saying just as the words left her mouth, and froze – _how do I explain this? _And talking about it while on school grounds – not a good idea!

However, the voice in the other end merely continued: "I can't answer the phone right now, so if you've got something to say, leave a message after the beep!"

Kuroko let out a relieved breath. Uiharu may not have turned on the sound on her phone after school yet. She hung up before the beep sounded. Stopping in the hallway for a moment, she drew a deep breath to calm down. _I can't accomplish anything by panicking. _She slowly rubbed her temple, feeling her insides settle down. _There's no reason to panic in the first place. So far, nothing serious seems to have happened._ _Assuming this and that has anything to do with each other may perhaps be too quick a judgment._ How could a kiss result in something like this, after all? Maybe Asanuma-san and Hitomi-san were suffering from another predicament entirely… That is, if they weren't just playing around. Perhaps the two of them had some kind of sick humor like this, pretending to be each other…

She had not offered to explain her own situation to the two girls, not knowing how to do so. It had seemed better to just smile and pretend she understood completely. Right now, she was happy for that decision. There was no reason to cause a stir over this as long as nothing serious had happened. If they kept this up, chances were it would end on its own soon enough.

_If there is the slightest chance that this was caused by _that_… _she gulped silently. It seemed like her best chances for survival would be to go with the flow and keep her mouth shut for now.

XXX

Mikoto sighed as she left the library after the last bell rang, carrying Kuroko's schoolbag. She was tired of watching her act all the time; not that anyone may suspect they were switched out, exactly, but acting strange did have a knack of getting them into trouble.

_Like with the Queen just now… Kuroko would most likely not have paid her any mind at all. _She sighed again._ I really hope there's no more trouble waiting before I can get out of here…_

They had agreed upon meeting by the second-year lockers before parting ways; seeing how this weird occurrence had yet to revert to normal, they would have to keep on playing each other for another while yet. By now she was starting to feel like this was the norm either way. It was scary how used she'd become to walking around in Kuroko's shoes. Had they really been normal just yesterday?

Walking past a row of lockers and girls ready to leave school, she suddenly saw Kuroko, who was already waiting by Mikoto's locker. And so were a throng of her fan girls. She hesitated, stopping right before entering their line of sight. Kuroko was smiling with all her might, laughing at the various girls throwing her questions and gazing starry-eyed up at her. Mikoto was slightly unsettled. _That looks kind of…_

"Misaka-sama, what shampoo do you use for your hair?"

"Misaka-sama, did you get my letter the other day?"

"Misaka-sama—!" Everywhere their blushing and eager faces penetrated Kuroko's point of view.

Kuroko was sweating profusely by now. _Where is Onee-sama? I can't take this anymore!_ She wanted to scream and scare the girls away, but she didn't want to risk another lecture from Onee-sama about her behavior. Certainly, if the ace of Tokiwadai started screaming at her fans, all hell would break loose at the school. And yet, it was so tempting. _How does Onee-sama keep up with this! _

"Maa," she tried for approach, "I really don't have time for this now…"

"Misaka-sama, you have violin recital now, right?" One of the girls asked, bright-eyed.

"Um…" The mere notion sent a tremble through her body.

"Can we watch?" The girls asked, hands clasped in front of their chests.

Utter terror settled in Kuroko's stomach. _WATCH?_ She had not yet even figured out how to fake her way out of the class – she could not play the violin for the life of her!

Mikoto also felt her face freeze, imagining the horrors of people listening in on Kuroko's horrid display of skill – never mind the fact that she preferred not having anyone nearby when she practiced.

This seemed as good a time as any to step forward. _You can do this! _She psyched herself up, slapping her cheeks. Forcing a bright smile onto her face, she jumped out from behind the lockers, beaming at Kuroko. "There you are, Onee-sama!"

The girls flocking around Kuroko instantly threw her unsure stares or nasty glares; she felt them burn into her flesh. _Oi oi, that's quite the hostility!_ She sweat-dropped, but her smile never wavered. Stepping forwards, cheeks growing beet red, she attached herself to Kuroko's arm. "I c-can't let you out of my sight for even a minute, can I?"

The other girls backed off, huffing; "It's that Shirai."

Kuroko was too shocked to react at first; the experience of having Onee-sama clutching her arm had her mind quite literally explode. However she snapped out of it when Mikoto discretely stomped her foot, and then spluttered: "Ah – K-Kuroko, get off!" She shook her arm half-heartedly, but Mikoto still let go almost instantly, as if burned. Her face was quite red. The sensation of hugging her own arm was a bit disturbing, but at least the annoying fan girls had left.

Kuroko let out a relieved sigh.

"Well, we better prepare you for the violin recital." Mikoto tried to ignore her worries, and stepped over to her locker after making sure nobody else was around.

"Gh – Onee – I – I…" Kuroko was so nervous about this upcoming violin recital she wanted nothing more than to disappear into a hole in the ground. The noble art of playing the violin was something that belonged to her Onee-sama; Kuroko was in bliss the few times she was allowed to listen to the older girl play, and had never dreamt of touching such an instrument herself. If she could make herself pass out and spend the time in the infirmary instead, that would be better.

"What, are you caving in here?" Mikoto sighed deeply. "Jeez." She reached up and unlocked her locker, having refused to give Kuroko the combination (one never knew what the underclassman would do with that knowledge. Of course, Kuroko didn't need to know it, since teleporting the lock away was much more efficient).

Mikoto pulled out her violin case and smacked the locker shut. Then she looked at the clock on the wall. Ten minutes till the recital began. She gave another sigh. "Let's go."

"Eh? Where?"

"Over here." Mikoto dragged her into an empty classroom and locked the door behind them. Kuroko's throat immediately constricted; either she planned to kill her, or… "O-Onee-sama, are you finally…" Her heart beat faster. "Are you planning on having an after-school romance with Kuroko in this forbidden scene of an empty classroom? Aaaah, your sense of romance is as staggering as always! Though, making out in this state may be…"

"Keep those perverted fantasies to yourself, and don't spout them with my mouth!" Mikoto thrust the violin case forward, as if to make a point. "I'm going to teach you the basics of violin playing."

XXX

Learning to play the violin in ten minutes is impossible, of course. Though they did their best, by the time they had to leave, Kuroko had only managed the basics of holding the violin correctly and stroking the bow without making a screeching sound _every single time_.

"Sheesh, this day is getting better and better." Mikoto muttered while Kuroko put the violin carefully into its case.

Kuroko had nothing to offer except her agreeable silence. There was no way she could play the violin in any convincing way, even if she inhabited the body of her Onee-sama. Apparently, skills didn't transfer like that.

"Well, I would be seriously freaked out if you suddenly knew something you shouldn't." Mikoto said. She looked just a bit troubled, but was keeping a leash on her stress. "By the way, you may want to stay away from the Queen for a while."

"Eh?" Kuroko looked up at her.

Mikoto told her about running into the other girl. Afterwards, she said: "It doesn't make sense, but for some reason she couldn't affect me with her power."

Kuroko hmm'ed thoughtfully. "Perhaps our abilities aren't completely gone, but lie dormant in a state where we cannot use them…?"

Mikoto sighed. "Whatever the reason, there's no way an esper is the culprit behind this. I'm starting to think it has another explanation entirely. But I have no idea what…"

Kuroko kept her mouth shut. This may have been the right moment to mention Asanuma-san and Hitomi-san, but without knowing for sure if they were even telling the truth… No, there was no reason to risk her life for something that may be completely unrelated to their mishap. And even if she did tell Mikoto about last night, it would not help them come closer to a solution.

In fact, it may only result in her being beaten to a pulp.

Feeling sweaty, she looked at the clock on the wall as a distraction, and her eyes widened. "Ah – Onee-sama! You have to get going!" Konori-senpai would be furious if she was late for another shift at work.

"Hm? Oh right, Judgment… I'll just take the bus over; I'll be there in no time. And you go straight to our room and place the violin on my desk after the recital, got it? I'll never forgive you if you drop it somewhere or…"

"Aaah, no worries, Onee-sama, your treasure is safe with me." Kuroko forced a smile onto her face.

"It's not a treasure or anything, but it'd be a pain to go buy a new one." Mikoto huffed. "Just don't mess up!"

XXX

After seeing Kuroko safely into the music room, Mikoto hurried off down the hallways to exit the school and catch a bus for Judgment HQ.

_I can't believe I'm going to do Kuroko's job. _The strangeness of this day didn't seem to let up in the least. _But at least we don't have to worry about school any longer._

Exiting through the pompous oak doors with a few other students and trudging down the stairs to the finely built campus of Tokiwadai, she was so busy wracking her mind about their problem (_Maybe I can use Judgment equipment to search for clues?_) she didn't notice the group of students waiting for her before she nearly walked right into them. As she suddenly realized someone was blocking her path, a hand shot out and pushed her back; she stumbled backwards in surprise.

"What—?" Looking up, she was staring right at an unpleasant face. She recognized the girl from her own class – with half-long hair and intense blue eyes, she was one of the delinquents who had probably cornered Kuroko in the bathroom. Mikoto frowned. _Now what? _

"Hmf. You're her roommate, right?" A girl with short hair walked forward; she too, was from her own class. Her dangling purple earrings were quite the landmark.

"She is." The first girl said, a smirk adorning her otherwise cute face. "This is Misaka-san's number one servant, Shirai Kuroko. So, this is where we make our point?"

_Rhetorical pause._

Mikoto gritted her teeth and stepped backwards. _Why are these guys here? _She glanced to the side and saw more girls surrounding her, counting their numbers up to ten. If it was for threatening, having this many people might be necessary. She forced her body to stay calm and gazed back at the girls in front of her.

"Do you know why we're here?" The girl with the purple earrings asked, her smirk nearly poisonous. "Has your great leader informed you of what's going on? Or is she so full of it she doesn't even care to warn her followers?"

Mikoto didn't answer, her eyes shooting everywhere looking for a way out. A few other girls left the school building, but they were engrossed in their own conversation and didn't even throw the group of people a look. _But even if they're trying to intimidate me, they wouldn't start something right in front of school. _Mikoto thought reassuringly._ Unless they're aiming for a fullblown—_

"If it's war the Railgun wants, then war she shall get." The girl with the purple earrings pulled a hand through her hair. "We of Atomics won't let the fact that she is a Level 5 get in our way."

_Is she serious? _Mikoto tensed, feeling sweat gather in her neck. _Are they targeting me because of what happened between them and Kuroko in the bathroom? That idiot—!_

"Oh my, she is too shocked to even speak." The other girl commented, one arm poised below her lush chest. She was staring at Mikoto with a smirk on her face, blue eyes twinkling. "Is this really the one that messed us up so good back in spring…? Well, I've been dying to pay her back for that."

Mikoto gritted her teeth again and straightened up – which didn't do much of an impression since Kuroko's body wasn't very tall. "You talk a lot, but it ends with that," she said. "You know that if you do anything here, the teachers will intervene and you will be punished."

"Oh yes, that may be the normal turn of events," the purple earrings said. "However, it seems the Queen herself has gotten you on the wrong side of her mood, and she has offered her cooperation if we are to take you out. The teachers won't notice anything, and they certainly won't come to your rescue."

Mikoto was feeling more and more cornered._ If the Queen is really helping them out, there's no saying what they'll do. _She crouched slightly, trying to be prepared for whatever may happen. _She must have labeled me a threat after what happened in the library. Still, going to extremes like this – are they nuts? _She hid her uncertainty and stared at the girls in front of her levelly. "Do you plan on taking me on, knowing I am a teleporter?" It was an empty threat, but it was worth a shot.

"Oh, we have our counter measures. Surely you realize that even your handy ability has its weaknesses."

_Well, I'd be shocked if that worked. _Mikoto carefully looked around. There was no-one nearby who could intervene. Most of the students had already left the school grounds, and the rest was busy with club activities. Right now, there were only them by the front entrance. Sweat shone on Mikoto's forehead as she gazed evenly at the girls in front of her. _These two are Level 4 and 3; as for the other ones…_ She glanced sideways; she wasn't sure about the rest of the girls, but there was not much brain activity involved to know they were Level 3 at least.

"Well, if the Railgun really cares about her followers, I guess _she _might show up; but, I doubt that will happen." The girl with the blue eyes and well-developed chest changed her stance somewhat, pure confidence radiating from her being.

Mikoto watched them carefully, waiting for them to make the first move. The music room was sound-proof and located on the other side of the school; there was no way Kuroko would be able to notice. Even if she did though, there was no saying her coming here and threatening to fire another railgun would have the same effect as last time.

These girls were prepared to fight.

She gathered her courage and tensed as the blue-eyed girl inched her foot forward like a swordsman from the Samurai era slowly advancing on her opponent.

They already knew Kuroko was a teleporter. They must have been prepared in that regard, planning to face her on equal grounds. Maybe one of the girls around them had an ability to intervene in calculations or disturbing the sense of the 11 dimensions needed to move around; nevertheless, Mikoto had no choice but to assume they were prepared for a hard battle. Her only counter was that she would definitely not be teleporting; that may surprise them at least... _but is it really a good thing, after all? _She fought back the need to swallow a lump in her throat.

"I am a Judgment member you know." She said as a last resort. "Are you really prepared to be arrested for your actions?"

"Hmf." The blue-eyed girl gave a small snort, and then her lips curled up into another smirk. "Here I come!" She suddenly shot forward, and Mikoto bent down, trying to predict her movement – and was suddenly blasted by a stream of gray smoke. She clenched her eyes shut and coughed as it entered her lungs. When she opened her eyes again, she could see nothing but grey smoke twirling in the air in around her. _Nuh – a smoke screen! _She didn't know how it was made or who was responsible, but it could possibly be a result of several ability users cooperating to create the desired effect. It was probably used as a means to hinder any teleportation, since teleporting through unknown territory was foolish with the risk of splitting into another human. It was hardly necessary to use such a counter against Mikoto in that sense, but it still disrupted her view. She could hear someone running towards her, but from _where—?_

Suddenly, a foot was planted in her back.

"Guh-!" She was pushed forward, and rolled on the ground to stand up facing her attacker, only to be met with a knee directly in her solar plexus.

"Oof!" She crouched over, and the girl with the large breasts pushed her away through the smoke and disappeared from view again. Mikoto gritted her teeth, her stomach hurting too much for her to stand up right. She clutched at it tightly while throwing looks around and trying to breathe evenly. _Damn, I can't see anything. How long before the smoke screen lifts? They'll probably just make a new one at that point though. _

"Hyah!" Something shot out of the smoke just beside her.

"Gah—!" She barely managed to lift an arm as the shout startled her; the kick that had been aimed at her face was barely blocked, and she stepped backwards to relieve the impact. Her school bag was held in her left hand; she swung it fiercely in the direction of her attacker, but the person pulled back into the smoke.

_Jeez, how annoying. _She stepped backwards while breathing heavily, only to have an arm wound around her neck.

"Nh-!"

"Got you!" Someone pulled her into their chest, her neck secured by a strong arm. Mikoto gritted her teeth. _I can't fight when I can't see them coming! _In this sense, 'see' referred just as much to her electromagnetic sensory as her own two eyes. She had never been in a fight where she could not sense her opponents if they came from a blind spot – this was not the best time to start practicing.

"Kh-!" She swung the school bag in a wide bow from in front of her to hit the temple of whoever it was that was holding her captive. However her arm was grabbed before she could finish the blow. _Shit— _

"That's it, hold her there!" The smirking girl was charging at her through the smoke again, blue eyes glinting strangely. "Hehey, did you know I can see body heat?" She said, seeing Mikoto's stare. "Even through all this smoke, I can keep track on your movements, little teleporter girl!" She raised her fist, ready to punch.

Mikoto gritted her teeth and grabbed a hold of the arm around her neck with her own free arm. She then lifted both her feet off the ground and kicked forwards and up – hitting the charging girl squarely in the jaw.

"Gwah!"

"Naissa-senpai!" The one holding her captive was shocked to see her senior bash into the ground – Mikoto made use of the one second's confusion and elbowed her in the ribs, and then planted her heel into the foot of the other girl. The girl didn't react with more than a wince, but the grip around her neck loosened just enough for Mikoto to wriggle out, and then she was off. _I'm glad I didn't have to stab her with a spike at least. Now to get out…_

She hadn't run more than few meters before someone else swung a weapon at her head with a startling cry – she ducked and felt the sword swipe past the straws of her hair – only to have them burned off with a sizzling sound_. _She felt a surge of panic in her chest._ That was close! _

The girl who had been holding her captive had charged after her when she ran, but stopped now and pulled back in the face of the newcomer. Maybe she didn't want to risk being hit by that weapon. _So they're not that coordinated. Not that it helps me much. _Mikoto backed off when the girl in front of her continued to swing the weapon at her furiously. It looked like a sword, but it was not made of wood or iron; it was shimmering, and each strike made a weird _buzz_ in the air. It was probably created with the girl's ability, just like how Mikoto could create iron sand swords using magnetism. Her temple throbbed as if reminded of the meeting with Unabara-san earlier today, though she doubted a hit from this weapon would end in just a painful smack.

In any case, there was no way she could come close with this kind of opponent!

"Hiyaah!" The girl made a furious swipe downwards, hitting the ground in a burst of sparks and even cutting right through it. Mikoto jumped backwards in a dodge, then turned on the spot while the girl was still in the process of pulling her sword out. Using the centrifugal force form her spin, Mikoto sent her school bag flying like a square Frisbee – striking the girl directly in the nose.

"Wah!" Clamping a hand over her bleeding face, the girl collapsed to the ground on her knees, while the sword dispersed into the air. Mikoto grinned contently. _I'm not called Tokiwadai's ace for nothing!_

"Utena-san!" The girl who had been watching charged forward to help her friend. Mikoto ran past them both, picking up the school bag in the process. She had to find a way out of the smoke to be able to see, and then escape. Even if she knocked these girls to the ground they were not unable to stand up again, so she was potentially facing ten opponents still – and she suspected they hadn't all used their abilities. Hopefully this smoke disabled their senses just as much as hers.

"God, get this poison out of my sight!" Someone called out in front of her, and a breath of air charged past. Mikoto stopped and shielded her face at the sharp burst of wind. While it was not enough to knock her down, it was efficient for blowing the smoke away.

"Stop it Clarissa-san, that's our trump card against the teleporter!" Someone yelled.

"Hmph!" The girl who was revealed in front of Mikoto was a longhaired beauty with a frown on her face. "She hasn't even teleported once, has she? Even in closed space, teleporting an attacker a meter or two to the side shouldn't be so dangerous as to risk injury by holding back." She stared right at Mikoto as she spoke, eyes glowing with animosity and a small smile forming on her lips. "Maybe she is too shook up to concentrate?"

Mikoto gritted her teeth and stepped back, eyeing the remaining opponents that were clearly visible once the smoke drifted off. The girl with the purple earrings still stood, sneering. The other girl from her class, Naissa-san, was on her knees on the ground clutching her mouth, with two girls running over to help her stand up; and the girl who'd received the schoolbag right in the face was still bleeding, being carried out of the ring by a worried looking girl who looked like she belonged to the weight lifting club if anything. Apart from those two however, the rest of the girls still looked fit for battle, including the two flanking the longhaired girl. Mikoto felt sweaty. While she knew how to put up a fight, she was nowhere near as experienced with martial arts as Kuroko, and these girls were hardly on the same level as the normal gang of thugs in Academy City's back alleys.

The proud-looking girl in front of her stepped forward. "How come you aren't using your ability, Shirai Kuroko-san?"

Mikoto paid her no heed, keeping a close eye on the others that still surrounded her. _If I try to run for it, they'll… _

"Even with Aina-san's ability to limit your own movement through the 11 dimensions, you should be able to teleport others, isn't that right?" The third-year in front of her continued, ignoring the glares she received from the others for revealing their tactics. "Are you not willing to fight for your honor? Are you not proud enough to stand up for your position as the closest follower to Misaka Mikoto?"

_Always about followers and allies; why can't someone just be my friend? _Mikoto was fuming inside; the thought that these girls would even try to target someone like this because they happened to be her friend, was infuriating.

"I have no reason to fight you." She said at last, her voice calm and levelheaded despite the situation.

"Even so, when faced with such a threat, you won't even try to defend yourself?" The girl seemed honestly puzzled.

Mikoto grinned. "You don't consider what has transpired up to now to be defending myself? Well, your allies certainly don't have much value in your eyes, do they? That's despicable."

The girl kept watching her, unfazed.

"I can fight without using my ability." Mikoto continued. "More importantly, you are not so important that you are worth using my ability on!"

This announcement nearly echoed in their ears; for a moment, everyone was quiet. It looked like the girl with the purple earrings was about to burst from rage though; and the girl in front of Mikoto suddenly smirked. "I see. How arrogant. But I don't hate that. In fact, I think such bravery deserves to be taken seriously." She pulled a hand through her short fringe. Then she put it out, like a huntress commanding her tigers to attack. "Nagisa, Yuki – get her."

"Hai, Clarissa-san!" The two girls at her side both answered loyally, and while one of them charged forward like a panther assaulting its prey, the other girl made a stance with two fingers to her forehead, staring at Mikoto intently. _Now what? _Mikoto pulled back when the first girl reached her and punched – she missed her face when Mikoto pulled her head sideways. Her eyes widened. _She's got metal knuckles on her hands; what is this, a street fight?_ The girl opened her hand and grabbed a hold of one of the flying pigtails – _shit! _Mikoto barely had time to curse her carelessness before pain exploded in her body as the girl pulled her forward by her hair and kneed her in the stomach again.

"Guah—!" Mikoto coughed up saliva, her insides screaming in pain, and the girl moved her other hand in to punch from the side – Mikoto raised the school bag almost on instinct, blocking the fist by having the bag shoved into her side in its place. Even through that, she could feel the metal knuckles pressing against her ribs.

The girl grinned. "Do you want to know what my ability is?"

Mikoto's eyes widened as she noticed the small sparks from her skin. _Electro—! _She let go off the bag just as the girl unleashed a high-volt discharge from her fist. She managed to pull her hair out of the hand holding it and span away from the immediate danger. She had no idea whether she was still immune to electric-based attacks, but she didn't want to find out right now.

Breathing heavily, she stared at the opponent in front of her, while still eying the others around them. _Even when they're attacking me just a few at a time, it's difficult to keep them off. _She could see the other girls surrounding her in the corner of her eyes. _They're just biding their time. _This was obviously not a fight where they attempted to beat her – or to them, Kuroko – fast and efficiently; they wanted to make a point. To show off their strength, to intimidate…she furrowed her brow, lungs still gasping down air. _What a cowardly way of making a point!_

_Baaziit! _Something charged past her neck with the speed of light – her eyes widened as she felt the heat on her skin, and something exploded into the stairs behind her.

"Oh, you better not stand still for too long." The Electromaster girl in front of her grinned. "Yuki can fire lethal beams of laser – and the less you move, the easier it becomes to hit you!"

_What! _Mikoto was honestly terrified now – and the girl in front of her charged forth again, electric charges surrounding her fist.

"If you just stand there looking stupid, you'll get electrified!"

Mikoto gritted her teeth. _It doesn't matter if she can't fire it from range – it'll probably hurt if she hits me! _

"Yah!" The girl punched at her again – Mikoto dodged sideways, and felt another searing hot beam charge past her face only to explode into the stairs beyond. _Uwaah, are they seriously trying to kill me? _Perhaps they were expecting her to start using her ability in order to survive – but there was no way she could do that. _Even if I did have Kuroko's ability, I wouldn't know how to use it! _There wasn't like a manual inside her brain existed, and besides, there was no reason to believe they had changed abilities to begin with. _If we did swap them Kuroko should be able to sense her surroundings due to the electromagnetic waves she'd be emitting – but she can't. I can only assume our abilities have been locked, or something like that!_

Whatever it was, it meant she had no esper ability to fight with. And in this kind of setting, that was not good. _How am I supposed to fight like this! _She dodged another punch, pulling backwards while the other girl advanced with a grin that suggested she was having fun.

"How long will you keep up that 'too-good-to-use-my-ability-on-you' attitude, eh?" The girl punched again, and when Mikoto tried to avoid it this time, she tripped backwards and fell.

"Wah!" She hit the ground, and the Electromaster was right above her.

"Got you now!" She grabbed Mikoto's collar and pushed her down, grinning widely. "Take _this_!" The electric currents sprang forth from her hands – Mikoto clenched her eyes shut and cried out as the pain shot through her being.

"Guah!" She convulsed as the electric currents affected her nerves, and the pain enveloped her brain for a split second. Then, the electric currents that had stricken her body faded off, leaving her to breathe harshly as a tingling sensation overtook her body. Grimacing, she opened her eyes in small squints. _That hurt… _"...damnit." She coughed._  
><em>

"Eh?" The girl above her sounded puzzled.

Mikoto forced her eyes open and looked up at a confused face. Now that the pain was gone, she felt shaky all over, as if her nerves were still trembling from the treatment.

"You're not...?" The girl looked positively perplexed. "But I just launched my full power at you…"

"Eeh?" Mikoto was able to speak, though her voice shook just a tiny bit. "That was your full power?" It wasn't meant as a joke to make of fun of the other girl. It had hurt, but she was still conscious. There was no way that attack had been the strongest a Level 3 or 4 Electromaster could dish out.

"That was 900,000 volts!" The other girl barked, reddening now. "How come you can still move-?"

_900,000 volts, eh… _about three times as much as a standard stun gun. Even if the girl hadn't meant to kill, something like that would normally knock a human out in the very least.

"Ohohoho!" Suddenly, someone was laughing. It was none of the girls surrounding them, who all seemed just as surprised at the failed electrification; it was a very familiar laugh, in fact.

Mikoto turned her head to look up at the staircase she was currently laying at the bottom of; standing there, a red and black fan in her hand, was a long-haired, proudly poised girl.

"Kongou-san!" Mikoto was surprised and relieved to see a friendly face. There had been too many dreadful encounters today.

"Will you keep on assaulting this girl, knowing that she is one of Kongou Mitsuko's friends?" The pompous second-year asked, gesturing with her fan at the couple of girls at the bottom of the stairs.

"Who the heck is that?" One of the surrounding girls asked, but was only answered with shrugs.

"Furthermore, will you keep trying to beat her with that useless electricity, even when knowing that her roommate already treats her to that kind of thing on a daily basis? She is obviously quite used to it." Unfazed by their failure to recognize her, Kongou-san kept standing there with a pleased smile on her lips.

Mikoto's eyes widened. "Is that why…?" It would explain a thing or two about Kuroko's reactions to her punishments in the least, but still…

The girl above her gritted her teeth, before glaring up at Kongou-san. "That is ridiculous! No-one can take 900,000 volts of electricity head on like it's nothing!"

"Oh, but she just did, did she not?" Kongou-san smirked. "Or are you suggesting your attack is not as strong as you claim?" She gave a theatrical sigh. "In any case, if you wanted to kill her you should be able to stop her heart with a single volt, no? Or are you, Nagisa-san, not able to control the current that precisely?"

The girl known as Nagisa-san was literally burning to a crisp. "Will you shut up you moron! What the hell are you doing here anyway? Yuki, shoot her down!"

The girl with the laser shot ability turned her attention on Kongou-san, putting two fingers to her forehead while a concentrated look appeared in her eyes. Mikoto could see now that the girl's charge time was quite obvious, which meant that even if the beam itself travelled at the speed of light, it was possible to see when she was about to fire and then make a run for it.

"Woop!" Kongou-san saw the same, and ran off to the side just as a sizzling charge the size of a finger appeared in the air in front of the other girl's face. The beam was fired a moment later, but Kongou-san had already moved; as a result, it missed Kongou-san and instead hit the wall of the school, where it exploded in a myriad of dust and left a small crater in the expensive bricks.

The girl on top of Mikoto panicked. "Gaah! Yuki, don't destroy the school!" It may be too late to be saying this now, as the staircase already sported two similar craters.

"Well!" Kongou-san stood proudly again, lifting her fan without a care. "If that is your answer, how about I pull out my greatest trump card!"

"Trump card? Is she powerful?" Some of the girls suddenly looked uneasy.

Kongou-san put her fan out like a general commanding her troops. "Behold, the elite forces of Tokiwadai! The Misaka Mikoto Fan Club; emerge!"

She was answered by a whole lot of 'what the hell?' expressions, but didn't seem to mind. Even Mikoto found what she just heard to be a tad bit unbelievable.

However, Kongou-san was not a girl to come with incredible lies. Nehever. As proof, a group of girls suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere to surround them all. They seemed to count more than 20 – quite possibly the entire club had been gathered. They may have been able to mask their presence or stay hidden using some of the member's abilities; as such, it looked like the entire group just appeared from thin air.

"What is this?" The regal girl who had blown away the smoke earlier looked around haughtily. "The Misaka Mikoto Fan Club? What a surprise. I thought you would be the last ones willing to help her despised roommate."

One of the girls in the Misaka Mikoto Fan Club stepped forward. She looked pretty determined. "While Shirai-san might be our sworn enemy, it is no doubt that her injury would cause Misaka-sama great distress! As loyal supporters, we need to prevent that!"

Mikoto was surprised. It may be true that she would be upset if that idiot was hurt, but hearing these girls say so was unexpected.

"I happened to overhear your sinister plan earlier," Kongou-san explained, smirking confidently at the top of the stairs. "I saw that Shirai-san would most likely be in a pinch, and called in a few favors. Now then!" She pointed her fan in the general direction of the first assault force. "Are you prepared to take us all on?"

"Geh—!" The purple earrings girl looked around uneasily, while several of her companions frowned or threw insecure looks at the club members that had suddenly surrounded them. Even as a Level 5, standing up against 20 or more Level 3's and 4's would be quite the challenge. No wonder the assaulters seemed uncertain all of the sudden.

However one did not lose her stature.

"Ahahah, what an oversight on our part." Clarissa-san, the girl who looked like she'd fit the nickname 'Queen' even better than Shokuhou Misaki (based on her stances at least), merely laughed regally. "To be discussing our plans in the hallways where anyone can hear is quite stupid indeed." She shot a brief look at the girl with the purple earrings, who reddened considerably.

"So you see that you have no choice but to surrender." Kongou-san boasted. "That is fine; I, Kongou Mitsuko, accept your withdrawal."

"Do not be too hasty in your conclusions over there," the other girl smirked. "While we did plan on confronting only Shirai Kuroko, we were prepared in case someone else showed up."

She made a flick with her hand; suddenly, a whole bunch of girls came dashing towards them from outside the gates and around the corners of the school.

"Behold; The Queen's Chosen!"

The Misaka Mikoto Fan Club was suddenly surrounded by a gang of girls who didn't quite match their numbers alone, but with the already present force that had attacked Mikoto they may just be equal.

Mikoto gaped. The girl sitting atop her also seemed rather confused, as she was staring at the scene unfolding and saying; "What the heck is going on?"

All the other girls that were part of the first assault force looked pretty perplexed at this turn of events; quite possibly, the girl called Clarissa-san had not indulged the others in her proactive plans.

"Now then; our numbers outrank yours!" The girl with the majestic poses smiled thinly up at Kongou-san. "Are you sure you wish to carry this out?"

"Perhaps you ought to learn to count," Kongou-san sighed. "But even so, surely you realize that mere numbers mean nothing in a setting like this? This is where our abilities and co-operation between ability users come into play. The superior will outshine the inferior!"

"Is that so? Then, let us see who will be victorious, why not?"

"Let us! Girls: Commence battle!"

Like an army from the Middle Ages, the girls surrounding them let out a battle cry – the first beams and rattling explosions sounded as the Misaka Mikoto Fan Club and the Queen's Chosen furiously attacked each other and the first assaulters; soon enough, blasts from different kinds of abilities struck out while protective shields and other defensive abilities were utilized to minimize the damage. The Electromaster girl above Mikoto apparently decided that helping her comrades came first, and got off her abdomen to run off into the fray, electric currents snapping from her body.

Mikoto sat up, staring at the scene that was playing out. The myriad of different abilities created a stunning sight. Even if one esper may have restrictions on her own ability, those could be greatly lifted once teaming up with others. Abilities that helped each other out were not uncommon, like an Aerokinetic feeding oxygen to the flame of a Pyrokinetic, making it stronger, or an Aquakinetic helping an Electromaster's charges to travel further and faster. It was quite spectacular, and was part of the reason why a school consisting mostly of espers would severely beat a school consisting mostly of Level 0's during the Daihaseisai.

But right now, that was not the case. At this moment, two groups were facing each other, and they were all Level 3 espers or above. The result of this kind of battle, while amazing to the eye, could only be disastrous. Mikoto, who was still inhabiting Kuroko's body and not able to use her own ability at the moment, had no place in this. If she was caught in the crossfire here, she'd surely be injured or worse.

"Shirai-san!" Kongou-san came running down the stairs to help her up to her feet. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah… thanks." Mikoto said, getting up and brushing off her uniform. While her body was still feeling the mistreatment it had just been subject to, it was letting up strangely quick. Perhaps Kuroko's uncanny stamina was kicking in.

With a pleased smirk on her face, Kongou-san sighed theatrically. "My, to think the great Shirai-san needed help from me, Kongou Mitsuko." She put her hands on her hips and raised her chin proudly. "Surely you will now see my elegancy as something extraordinary you have never before witnessed. Ohohoho!"

Mikoto blinked at her. "Aah, yeah, it's quite something. Um… so now what?" She looked back at the scene ahead, seeing explosions of lasers, electricity, fire and water clashing together with gusts of wind, invisible force shields and inhuman speed. This was bound to draw attention in one way or another. Furthermore, seeing how this turned out the Queen may decide to retreat any moment, leaving the teachers to come to their senses and butt in.

"Ohoho, there is no need for you to worry. Everything is under con- uwaah!" Kongou-san suddenly ducked when a wild ball of fire came hurtling at her head. "Who did that!" She barked. "Dare you challenge me, knowing that I am Kongou Mitsuko!" And off she went, into the fray of battle.

Mikoto did not hesitate to use this moment to escape. It may be the coward's way out, but there really was no reason for her to linger anymore. _Let them fight on their own. Sorry, Kongou-san!_

Picking up Kuroko's school bag, she ran for the gates as fast as she could, as if she was a soldier trying her luck on a minefield by sprinting right over and hoping that no mines would go off if she just went fast enough. She thought she heard someone yelling to stop her, but whoever it was must have been stopped themselves since nobody took up the chase.

As she left the Tokiwadai school grounds behind, she sincerely hoped none of this would be blamed on her or Kuroko, or they were looking at a very long line of detentions.

_At least there's no way things can get worse than this!_

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong>

Title says it all, I guess. More problems. As many as I could think of, in fact. Plus a few more. I'm certain I could have come up with even more if I used more time, but this has been in the works for long enough, so…

I won't pretend I know anything about Botswana or the quantum field theory. Thank Wikipedia for providing information so I can sound professional. I do my research, but it's limited how much work I put into every single topic. If any of it is off this time, please just pretend you didn't notice(...).

Damn this chapter is long. Every time I read it, I feel like by the time I reach the end of it, I can't remember the beginning (strictly speaking that's not true, but well). Such a long chapter is much harder to edit and balance than a shorter one, but I tried anyway. Hopefully it is satisfactory!

Words and terms:

_Genkun_ (厳訓) = "strict instruction".

_Ara _= Something like "oh" or "my!"; a word fine ladies may use.

**Next time: **After-school problems


	4. Part 3: AfterSchool Problems

**Part 3: After-School Problems**

Violin.

The violin is the smallest instrument belonging to the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello. It has four strings, and its shape is beautiful and artistic with forms that may remind you of the waves at sea. It can be played by drawing a bow over the strings or plucking at the strings with your fingers, and there are several ways to adjust the tone of the strings to achieve the whole range of pitches.

That was the extent of what Kuroko knew about the violin in general. It may be more than the average person, but this was only thanks to the fact that her roommate actually owned and played a violin, so it was probably just natural that she'd picked up _some _facts.

However.

Contrary to her roommate, Kuroko did not know how to actually _play _the instrument.

This was mainly the reason why she was standing stiff as a rod in the middle of the music room after Mikoto showed her inside and bid her goodbye and good luck.

The music teacher, a middle aged woman with her hair tied up in a bun and square glasses sitting on her nose, was smiling as she greeted her.

"There you are, Misaka-san!" Her voice was friendly and lively, like she was actually just twenty years old or at least trying to act that way.

"Good afternoon, sensei." Kuroko, despite being so nervous, bowed her head and greeted the older woman properly.

"You'll be pleased to know I've found the perfect tune for practicing your double stops!" The woman beamed at her, flapping a couple of papers in the air while ignoring the ones that fell off the edge of her messy desk. "Afterwards I have a little goodie with pizzicato; you need practice or you'll grow rusty. We have a lot to do today!"

"…aaah…" Kuroko had a look of fright on her face. Well, strictly speaking that would be Mikoto's face, but concentrating on being correct about things like that inside her own head seemed pretty trivial right now. _I see, so Picasso is about violin playing… _Thinking something that would make any art teacher mad, Kuroko was completely lost.

The teacher came skipping over to her with the print-outs and quickly arranged them onto the stand used for the notes which was positioned in front of Kuroko.

"So, we'll start with a little warm-up exercise as usual." The teacher beamed. "Please take out your violin, Misaka-san."

"Ah – of course…" Kuroko bent down to the violin case by her feet and reluctantly pulled out the instrument and the bow. She was sweating already, but tried to pull herself together. _This is it, Kuroko! You better not disappoint now! _Though she had no definite plan as to how she was supposed to succeed here, she was not one to give up either. Escape was not an option; defeat was unheard of! _As Onee-sama's herald, I will never fail! _Grabbing hold of her burning conviction, she stood up with the violin in hand and put it in place at her neck like Mikoto had taught her.

"Okay?" The cheerful teacher waved her finger in the air. "One, two, three~"

_SKREEEEECCH! _The sound that erupted from the instrument when Kuroko dragged the bow over it was possibly the genuine imitation of the mating call of a rare Amazon parrot. The teacher shrieked and slapped her hands over her ears; Kuroko, with her eyes closed in concentration, didn't notice. She continued to drag the bow over the strings, creating sounds that even the heaviest metal band would flee from.

"Waaah, Misaka-san!" The teacher cried out, her face grimacing as if the tones were causing physical harm to her body. "I do believe your violin needs some tuning! Misaka-saaaan!"

XXX

An unexplainable shiver suddenly ran down Mikoto's spine, and she shuddered in her seat on the bus. _What is this feeling? Some kind of premonition? _She was fairly certain she wasn't telepathic, but she could swear her nerves had just reacted to some sort of otherworldly phenomena. She shook her head quickly. _I'm probably just shook up after everything that's happened. _The scene she had left behind at Tokiwadai was still fresh in her mind, but the various hurts she'd acquired was just a dull throb in her body now. Even so, the mental fatigue was starting to wear her out. _This day has been insane… _it was as if some higher existence sat up there playing chess with them, and decided to switch the Queen and the King around just for the heck of it, and then add a third player to boot. And even though three-way chess actually do exist, it seemed unnecessarily complicated to have it introduced in their real lives.

She scratched her head tiredly. _I'm not even making sense in my own thoughts anymore. _At least she'd been able to escape the riot-like state of the school grounds to board a bus heading for town. Now she could concentrate on surviving this day and hopefully find some more clues as to what had happened to them.

_If only this feeling would leave me alone for a second so I could try to think. _She shot a look around; like everywhere else she found herself today, she was unable to feel any electromagnetic waves at all. While she usually knew exactly how many phones or laptops were being used at any time around her, or even whether the bus was functioning properly, now she felt nothing at all. Normally she didn't think about it, having grown so accustomed to it, but now it made her feel uncomfortable and vulnerable.

She mentally tried to pull herself together. _I'm not _that _reliant on my ability!_ _I was once a Level 1 even! There's no way I'm bothered by something like this! How stupid is that? Haha! _Yet no matter how cheerful she tried to sound, there was this tiny little voice in the back of her head, whispering; _'but you're not even Level 1 right now, are you? You're even less than that. Abilityless. Zero…'_

"That's ridiculous!" She exclaimed with a laugh, acquiring a range of strange looks from the other girls on the bus.

After disembarking the bus in town, even walking along the street made sweat-drops appear on her brow. Such a normal task as walking along with other pedestrians was completely different without her electromagnetic sensory. _There sure are a lot of people around here…_ Her fingers twitched, and she was starting to feel nauseous. It was so bad that when someone suddenly bumped into her shoulder from behind, she nearly yelped in surprise. The guy didn't even look at her before hurrying on down the street though, and she shook her head forcefully. _I'm too tense!_ She clenched her eyes shut briefly and drew a deep breath, trying to calm down. But without being able to feel any of her surroundings, it felt like she was standing in a giant vacuum, and it just made her even more edgy.

_Geez, fine! _She opened her eyes again and hurried on down the street, trying to ignore her surroundings and just walk straight ahead. _I'll just go to the office and stay there all day. Sooner or later this… problem… has to go away. _If she wasn't so bothered by her own state, she might be able to think more logically about their problem. But it was hard enough to pretend she wasn't troubled while walking down the street.

Despite her feeling of insecurity, she reached the branch office without any scary incidents and gave a sigh of relief as she entered the room. "Safe…"

"Ah, Shirai-san!" A familiar voice instantly broke into her reverie, making her body stiffen at the spot. _Shit, I forgot!_ It should have been obvious, but she hadn't even once considered the fact that she would have to play the role of Kuroko in front of the other Judgment members. Cold sweat ran down her neck, and she stared at Uiharu Kazari who was now coming towards her, a freshly made teacup in her hand. The other girl was smiling as she stopped in front of her. "You're late. Did you and Misaka-san have a romantic rendezvous in an empty classroom after school~?"

Mikoto was unsettled just as much by Uiharu's words as by this situation. _Don't tell me she has the same kind of fantasies as that idiot! No, more importantly, what do I do now?_

"Aaah, I'm sure Misaka-san is longing for your touch right now…" Kazari sighed dreamily, clasping one hand to her cheek. "I hope you made sure to kiss her goodbye!"

"Wha – that's just—!" Mikoto reddened furiously, but cut herself off before she could say something that would definitely sound weird.

Kazari looked puzzled either way though. "Eh? You didn't?"

"Eh…" Mikoto hesitated, and then she sighed deeply. "Uiharu-san, you really love to tease, don't you?"

"…san?" Kazari blinked, and Mikoto reddened again. "Oh, by the way," the girl with the flowery headband continued before she could say anything else, "Konori-senpai had to run out, so she asked me to punish you in her stead for coming late."

Before Mikoto had the chance to interpret those words properly, the flower-headed Judgment member bopped her upside the head with the tea cup.

Mikoto blinked. It was too gentle to be considered punishment, though if she had used any more force the tea would have spilled all over.

Kazari, apparently pleased at having done her job, turned to walk back to her own desk. "There are a lot of things going on right now, but for now we're left with writing the report from yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Mikoto remembered Kuroko saying something over the phone last night about a tiresome case and that she would have her curfew extended – though she hadn't offered any details, merely claiming Mikoto was a 'civilian who should not be involved in incidents of Judgment's responsibility'. Just thinking about that made her shoulders tense up.

Kazari turned around again, wide-eyed. "Don't tell me you already finished it!"

Mikoto felt her eyebrows twitch. "O-of course not, are you silly?" She waved her hand, grinning awkwardly. "I just – does it really need to be finished so quickly…?"

"Of course! Anti-Skill wants our report today at the latest. With cases like this it's very important to be punctual!" Kazari raised a finger in lecture.

"O-of course…" Mikoto continued to grin.

Kazari went back to her own workspot, saying: "I'll handle my part, so please make sure you do yours properly for once~"

"…hai…"

XXX

After shoving Kuroko's mess of unfinished reports out of the way to reveal the laptop on her desk, Mikoto sat in the office chair feeling like the day could hardly get more exhausting. She tiredly gazed at the computer screen while the operating system loaded. _How long do we have to keep this up? _She glanced over at Uiharu's back. Would it be better to tell her what was going on? But even if she had wanted, what was she supposed to say? '_Hey, by the way, I'm actually Mikoto – Kuroko and I woke up in each other's bodies today!' Yeah right…_ She sighed. That was bound to sound like a lame joke. She wasn't sure she _should_ tell her either, since there was nothing Uiharu could do to help them anyway, and the other girl would probably just freak out. _In any case, I'll check for whatever info I can find before anything else…_

The log-on screen showed up on the screen in front of her. She stared at it, at first not realizing what this meant – and then did. _Wah, log-on – I need a password!_ Kuroko hadn't told her anything like that; she had no idea what the password could be. That underclassman would be in the middle of violin rehearsal now; she couldn't answer a text or a phone call.

_In this state I can't hack into it either… Then what? I can't ask Uiharu about it, can I?_ She glanced over at the other girl again, humming along at a tune over at her own desk. Mikoto shook her head. _How likely is it she'd know Kuroko's password anyway? Aaah, there's no other choice: I need to guess! Try to think like Kuroko!_

She clenched her eyes shut, and an image of Kuroko leering at a suitcase of exotic panties popped into her mind for some reason. _I don't want to think about that! Besides, how is that going to help me find the password? She wouldn't use a password like 'panties' anyway!_ She desperately wanted to believe that.

So then, what kind of password _would_ that idiot underclassman use? _She has no pets to use the name of, and she's not stupid enough to use her own name or birthday… what else is there…?_

…

She opened her eyes slowly, staring at the screen. _No… that's ridiculous…_ Still, her fingers reached out gingerly, as if the keyboard would bite. _She wouldn't… but just in case, I have to try…_

With almost involuntary movements, her fingers hit the letters on the keyboard until they typed out one single word; 'Onee-sama'.

_This is ridiculous_. She tried to calm her nervous mind, and hit enter. The words "welcome" greeted her before a desktop showed up on the screen. She was logged on.

"What the hell!"

"Uwah?" Kazari jumped, and threw her a nervous look over her shoulder. "W-what's wrong, Shirai-san…?"

"Nothing…" Mikoto put a hand to her forehead, feeling even more tired than before. _That Kuroko… isn't Judgment supposed to be about security? Anyone could guess that kind of password! And in the first place, using that for a password is just creepy!_

"By the way," Kazari said, turning around to face her, "there have been no more updates on the case. I guess they're still chasing down the culprit…"

"What case?" Mikoto asked, busily trying to figure out all the icons on Kuroko's desktop. _This looks like an e-mail program. So, should I check her mail? It's not like I can answer any of it either way, but I need to do _something_._ She clicked it, and was asked for another password. Her eyebrows twitched.

"Yesterday, the jewelry store vandal. Come on, what case did you think I was talking about?" Kazari laughed lightly, but Mikoto didn't answer, having just gotten entry into Kuroko's e-mail program with the same password as earlier and busy frowning at the amount of unread messages. _And what's this? 'For acting outside Judgment's jurisdiction on the evening of yesterday the Judgment Court has deemed it a fit punishment to write two sets of apology letters. They are to be sent no later than 8pm tonight.' Now what? Acting outside her jurisdiction? That Kuroko… _she sighed deeply. _And if we're not switched back to normal soon, does that mean _I _have to do it?_ She couldn't say she was exalted at the thought. In short, there was no way she'd do something like that.

"Shirai-san?" Kazari's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Ah? Oh, sorry; just thinking! Haha!" Mikoto laughed awkwardly.

The other girl smiled. "Heeh, so you _are_ capable of thinking! Anyway, did you happen to see anything strange on your way over to the office?"

"Something strange?" Mikoto stared at her. Surely she didn't mean the fight outside Tokiwadai, which was probably strange enough to qualify; she hoped that had ended already, though Judgment may have been called in to deal with it. Still, it was probably smarter to be on the safe side. "Like what?"

"Well, the stories are spreading all over town by now, but I guess Tokiwadai is kind of sheltered inside the Garden of Education…" Kazari looked at her computer screen. "For instance, there is a report of an entire block where the street lights have seemingly turned to rubber over in Area F…"

"Haah?"

"And there are reports of a street in Area D sinking like quicksand…"

"…"

"The incidents keep popping up one after the other. It's quite the mess out there and Anti-Skill has their hands full trying to control it all, so I was wondering if anything else had happened that we haven't heard of yet."

Mikoto couldn't help but feel incredulous. "…Is it some kind of terrorist attack?"

"Ah, well, Anti-Skill won't say much at all, but that may be the case. In any case, there are a lot of curious students and Anti-Skill are trying to keep everyone out of harm's way… they asked Judgment to help out, so Konori-senpai went to assist them."

Mikoto stroked her chin thoughtfully, looking into Kuroko's computer. "Still, turning street lights into rubber… is that even possible?" She muttered to herself, trying to imagine the result.

"By the way Shirai-san, did you finish the report from the case last week yet?"

"Eh?" Mikoto looked up at her, and may have given the impression of being nailed to the spot.

Kazari sighed. "You've forgotten, haven't you? Honestly, are you sure you don't have Alzheimer's? Sometimes you seem to live in your own world where you are the sole hero and anti-criminal fighter, forgetting the after work for every case."

"Aah, that's true!" Mikoto laughed.

Kazari stared at her for a moment. "Did Misaka-san finally misplace some electric signals in your brain?"

Mikoto sweat-dropped, but kept grinning. "Aah, no, I just – had a bit of a bad sleep tonight… I'm sorry…"

Kazari sighed again. "You didn't stay up to record Misaka-san on your cell phone again, did you?"

"PFFWAH?" Mikoto nearly fell off the chair. "Tha – that's just—!" She pulled out Kuroko's cell phone from her skirt pocket and pulled out the holographic screen. If something like that was saved on the phone's memory, she needed to delete it right away!

However, there was an unexpected reaction. "What, you did!" Kazari's eyes widened, and her cheeks pinked.

"Nuh – what's that supposed to mean, you're the one who just said—!"

"Aaah, Shirai-san, I really thought better of you… what would Misaka-san say if she found out…" Kazari shook her head in an exasperated manner.

"If you're that worried, don't suggest things like that in the first place!"

XXX

Kuroko let out a deep sigh of relief.

She had survived the violin recital.

Not to say it had went well, but at least she hadn't died. Truly, that was the only thing that could be worse than what _had_ transpired.

After failing horribly to produce any kind of sound that could be considered music, the teacher at last told her to stop and asked her what was going on. Feeling like things were not going the way she wanted, Kuroko excused herself by saying she was so stressed out she couldn't concentrate on playing. This did not please the teacher in the least. In fact, it seemed like her saying this had the exact opposite effect. The teacher punished her by having her read notes for the rest of the lesson, and gave her a deduction point to boot; _"and I don't care if you're the Railgun or not; in my lessons you are my pupil and do as I say, and no blaming your boyfriend for not being able to concentrate!"_ While Kuroko wondered how her excuse had turned into something involving a boyfriend (and she denied the idea of course, without it making her situation any better), the punishment was actually better for her sake; she could easily pretend to be reading notes while thinking of other things completely.

_I'm sorry, Onee-sama._ She thought dejectedly, head hunched. _Kuroko even earned you a deduction point._

She exited the school doors with a sigh, and found herself looking at a completely destroyed school yard. With craters and rubble everywhere it looked like a series of bombs had gone off. She glanced at it in puzzlement while walking across the space, seeing teachers doubling as Anti-Skill officers scratching their heads and looking around at the damage, and Judgment members belonging to the Garden of Education branch questioning a few students that looked like they'd been caught in a fireblast.

_Perhaps someone had an unauthorized duel. _Well, whatever it was it had nothing to do with her. Walking on out the school gates, she wondered briefly if Onee-sama had gotten to Judgment headquarters in time. _So far, everything has been going well. It would be bad if our cover was blown due to some careless mistake now._ Speaking of carelessness, Mikoto had told her to take the first bus out of there to their dormitory, but Kuroko had something she wanted to do first. _To buy Onee-sama some new underwear! _It was the perfect opportunity, and nobody would question it if Tokiwadai's ace showed up at a clothes store to buy some clothes after school. It was now or never.

XXX

_Why are there no significant hits? _Mikoto sighed at the computer screen, where yet another fruitless search for clues presented itself. Instead of finding anything concerning their problem, the hits consisted mainly of forum debates or articles regarding the existence of a human soul or crazy theories regarding brain transplantations. There were too many hits to search through, and narrowing the search was hard with how little she knew of their condition. _But even if I did find something about changing bodies, how would I know whether it's internet fiction or actual truth? _The answer was easy: She couldn't. In other words, this search was hopeless.

She looked up at her supposed-to-be Judgment partner. Kazari was humming along at a tune over at her own desk. _I guess I could try asking in an indirect way…_

"Hey…"

"Hm?" Kazari turned around with a quizzical look on her face.

"…if someone were to, say, theoretically speaking, tell you they've changed bodies with someone else… what would you make of it?" Mikoto was trying to word herself in a way that didn't sound completely ridiculous. Finding out how the other girl would react to the concept first and foremost came before trying to tell her anything concrete.

Kazari blinked. "Eh? Change bodies? As in body transplantation?"

Mikoto pursed her lips together. That would be the natural reaction from someone like Uiharu, of course. If someone asked a question like Mikoto just did, your first thought wouldn't be 'since they're asking that, they probably changed bodies with someone!' Rather, to most people it would seem like an honest question regarding a debatable topic.

Kazari put a finger on her chin and looked up into the ceiling thoughtfully, as if that would help form her words. "Well, since Robert J. White first did brain transplantations with monkeys in the 1970's, science has come pretty far. Apparently there are research centers in Academy City that have succeeded in transplanting the brains of several animals and had them survive. I don't know if they've tried it on humans yet though…"

"That's pretty disturbing." Mikoto imagined a dog and a cat having their brains swapped, and then quickly shook her head. Then again, if they had already started mass producing clones of someone without hesitation, there was no reason to believe they wouldn't try transplanting someone's brain. The image of an insane doctor entering their room in the middle of the night with a full set of all of kinds of surgery tools played on the edge of her mind, seeming like the badly written plot of a horror movie if anything.

"They still don't agree on whether it should be called _brain _transplantation or _body _transplantation though," Kazari continued. "Most people seem to have accepted both as correct, since basically, by moving a brain you'd also change the body."

"…I guess that's true." Mikoto agreed, even if the conversation had taken a turn she hadn't meant to.

"The ethics questions surrounding these transplantations are quite many too." Kazari continued to say. "A pretty popular example seems to be that if someone who has a partly defective brain were to remove the defective part and add in a healthy one from another brain, would you basically fuse two humans together, or would you delete them both and create something entirely new?"

"I guess it depends on how much of the brain is replaced…" Mikoto thought out loud. The questions around this subject were quite sensitive and sometimes disturbing though: The debate had been going on on world basis for many years without reaching a conclusion. But someone out there was bound to ignore ethics and morals and just try it anyway.

Could that really be what had happened to them…?

"Anyway, if anyone told me that, I guess wishing them good luck on recovering the spinal cord connections is the best thing to do!" Kazari happily concluded with a beaming smile.

"Ah… I suppose…" Mikoto faltered. The subject had turned into something slightly uncomfortable to discuss. _I'm not even sure if I should tell her anything. If someone did do this to us, will she be in danger if she knows? _

She decided to leave it at that for now.

XXX

After fifteen minutes of pure bliss, Kuroko exited one of the finest lingerie stores in the Garden of Education with a bag of freshly acquired goods in her hand. Smiling contently, she felt tremendously pleased as she walked in the direction of the bus stop that would take her out of the Garden and to the dorm. _I'll keep these hidden until the right time; when the bill shows up, I'll just make sure to grab it before Onee-sama notices! _She of course did not know Mikoto's pin codes for her credit cards, and she could hardly pay with game arcade coins. But the stores in the Garden of Education had other means of payment, as expected of stores that relied heavily on customer service. The signature of a person was stored digitally, and the device even scanned their fingerprints to make sure the person signing was the actual person owning the name. Coupled with the surveillance cameras planted all over, the security was top-notch. In this situation, something like imitating Mikoto's signature was no problem to Kuroko whatsoever.

Eager to try on her newly acquired treasures in the privacy of their room, she embarked the first bus to their dormitory and found a free seat. Several other Tokiwadai students were on the same bus, and a few of them threw her pink-cheeked, longing stares; Kuroko silently huffed, and didn't care to even acknowledge them, having grown tired of acting. _Honestly, I knew there were a lot of vultures after Onee-sama, but this is worse than I thought. I need to up my security measures._ This probably meant tracing Mikoto's every move with even more conviction.

They were nearing the second to last stop before their dormitory when the bus suddenly slowed down to a stop. Kuroko looked up, and saw the clogged street ahead. Cars, trucks and buses were stuck in a chaotic traffic jam, some even standing askew in the middle of the road. And the reason was simple: The traffic lights in the crossing ahead were blinking like mad, changing from green to red and yellow in random intervals. A group of adults in Anti-Skill uniforms were already trying to control the scene.

Kuroko sighed. Someone had probably tampered with the traffic lights, and some of the cars may have already collided as a result of the confusion. It seemed like this bus wasn't going anywhere soon.

The speaker inside the bus sparked to life, and a very respectable voice left the speakers. It was the bus' computer talking. "I am very sorry, but the signal failure in the crossing ahead is creating a traffic jam, and I have been prevented in my designated route. I will leave the doors open for two minutes so that you may leave if that is your wish." The doors slid open. "Please leave the bus if you do not wish to wait for the situation to be resolved. Again, I am very sorry." The female voice of the autobus acted like the proper servant of the ojou-samas it was meant to bring to and from school.

Kuroko decided to get off. Walking the last stretch was better than wasting her time in a traffic jam. _Hm, there's a short-cut through the park over here…_

XXX

_What's up with this messy system? Even in the digital world she's got no discipline…_ Mikoto gazed tiredly into the computer, where she was navigating the endless forest of folders and files on Kuroko's hard drive. She was currently "writing the report", and her work had escalated from clicking through useless results of her search on the net to randomly navigating through Kuroko's folders and documents (which there was a lot of). Uiharu sat with her back to her and worked on her stationary server, humming to herself and sipping her tea now and then.

All in all, it might have looked like a perfectly normal day at the Judgment office.

_I can't believe I'm doing this. _Mikoto hung her head in a dejected manner. But other than trying to search for hints that didn't exist or check so-called news sites (which were really nothing more than rumor spreading sites) for information that only described the on-going incidents around town rather than anyone changing bodies, there was nothing she could do to look like she was working on the report. There was no way she could ask about the incident yesterday without raising other awkward questions as well, and even if she did successfully wry it out of Uiharu, she couldn't be bothered to write a report for Kuroko.

_If I wanted to do those kinds of things, I would have joined Judgment…_ She looked back at the screen, and noticed a folder she had just revealed inside another folder. _'Private'? What's this…? _Clicking the folder, a row of folders popped up, named with seemingly random numbers. _What the heck? _She scrolled down the list, gazing uninterestedly at the folder names. _It looks like a row of code numbers…_ She frowned, and tried to open the folder called _118744_, and found it was empty. Trying a few more, they all yielded the same result.

_Why the heck would she make a lot of empty folders and name them with random numbers? Is she that bored at work? _Her interest was woken from its slumber. Having nothing better to do either way, she indulged herself in solving this mystery. She gazed at the folder names closely; they ranged from three to six numbers, all completely random. Sixteen folders with random numbers. _There's not any reasonable counting system used either… _She tried to open _945 _and _1564_ with no results. _Were they created by some program? No way… It couldn't just be hidden files, right? _She clicked the properties of the file browser and checked the "show hidden files and folders" option. Suddenly, a file appeared inside the _1564 _folder she had currently opened. She was surprised. However, there was nothing interesting about the file at first glance; it was just a file, no particular program assigned to it. It was called "12". Mikoto frowned. _What's up with this? _

Feeling bored already, she left the _1564 _folder and was about to close the entire browser window when she suddenly noticed a new folder had appeared in the main "Private" folder. It had obviously previously been hidden. This one was called _195318520_, another string of seemingly random numbers, but longer than any of the others. Just for the heck of it she tried to open it, and was asked for a password. Her brow furrowed again. _There's no way it would be that easy… right, Kuroko? _She typed in "Onee-sama" and hit enter. Nothing happened. This was somehow a relief. But now the challenge seemed obvious. _There's something inside that folder that Kuroko doesn't want others to see, isn't there? And she's even gone to the lengths of making it a hidden folder and giving it a password even though it's located on her own, secure Judgment computer. _Though privacy ought to be a concern here, anything that Kuroko tried to hide away was a reason for concern. Thus, Mikoto was obliged to check it out and make sure it wasn't something illegal or life-threatening.

She looked at the other, randomly numbered folders again. _The purpose of these folders… to fool? No, to hide? Or…_

She opened the _945_ folder again. Nothing. So, there was something about the files inside the folders, then?

Mikoto continued to open folders and found hidden files inside several of them. She copied the folder name and the number on the file inside it into a document to keep track, and soon, a row of seemingly mismatched numbers filled her screen.

_1564 – 12_

_56503 – 13_

_2174 – 24_

_71217 – 2_

_132 – 1_

_713632 – 23_

_2109 – 24_

The left row would be folder names, the right row the name of the hidden file inside them. Mikoto was still none the wiser though. Yet, there was no way Kuroko would make a random mess like this for no reason. _I'm sure these files and folders hold a clue to the password of that hidden folder. If it's so important to Kuroko she'd even make a hidden clue system like this in case she ever forgot her own password, it's better_ _to find out what it is. _Determinedly, she started working on cracking the code.

XXX

Kuroko was walking through the park in a relatively relaxed tempo. Compared to the stress that had been at school, walking in a peaceful environment without the danger of running into someone who demanded her to do something ridiculous was quite the breather. She just needed to go back to their dorm room, and then she'd be free to do whatever she could to investigate their predicament. The violin was securely placed in its case on her back; in one hand she held the school bag, in the other the shopping bag. Of course, she already had a few plans for the afternoon aside from looking for information about their problem. Starting with dressing up in something that Mikoto would smash her into the wall for if she tried to suggest it under any other circumstances.

_I wonder whether Hitomi-san and Asanuma-san is back to normal yet… that is, if they really were changed..._Even though there was no doubt she herself had changed bodies with Mikoto, it was still a bit hard to believe it had happened to someone else. It wasn't like this was something that normally happened to _anyone_, after all.

As she walked along the graveled path in her own thoughts, a familiar voice suddenly called out:

"Misaka-saaan!"

"Hmm?" Looking towards the voice, she saw a long-haired girl jogging towards her while waving her whole arm in the air. She was wearing the standard sailor uniform of Sakugawa middle school, and her schoolbag was dangling from one shoulder.

Kuroko recognized her, of course, and stopped almost automatically. "Saten-san." She suddenly felt very uneasy; was this the moment to start explaining what had happened, or should she continue to play the role of her Onee-sama? Considering her own skepticism regarding Hitomi-san and Asanuma-san, she doubted it was any more feasible that anyone would believe her and Mikoto.

Saten Ruiko came up beside her and breathed out. "I _thought _I saw you from over there." She smiled up at her. "What are you doing here? On your way home from school?"

"Aaah…" Kuroko hesitated, feeling more than a little awkward. _How do I go about treating this? Suddenly saying 'I am actually Kuroko' will certainly sound like a joke. _She had a troubled look on her face as she started walking again, something Ruiko was quick to pick up.

"Oh! Something happen?" She asked, studying her face closely while matching her pace. "Let's see, those kinds of wrinkles… ah, it's a boy!"

"Of course not!" Kuroko barked.

"Then just some deep thoughts, eh?" Ruiko grinned.

Kuroko sighed. "It's been a tiring day… in more ways than one." She was still feeling the strain after the gym lesson, with her legs being just a bit wobbly whenever she walked too quickly.

"Haha, I bet!" Ruiko grinned. "I guess there are some strange things going on inside the Garden of Education too, eh?"

Kuroko looked at her quizzically. "Strange things?"

"Oh, there's not? I'd think you'd heard about it at least, it's all over the net now…"

Kuroko didn't feel the need to explain how she hardly ever got to hear about the newest rumors before they were already gone. Being stuck in Mikoto's body apparently hadn't helped in that regard.

Ruiko had pulled out her phone.

"Apparently there are some folks out there creating havoc. Streetlights bending like rubber, roads sinking like swamps, even the sky has apparently changed color in places if you look at it from the right angle." She was navigating through a rumor spreading website as she spoke, and Kuroko sighed.

"You shouldn't be too involved with those sites, Saten-san…"

"And this one site says it can't be caused by esper abilities, so they wonder if there's some mass drugging going on or possibly a supernatural phenomenon!"

Kuroko gave a silent groan at the other girl's enthusiasm over groundless gossip.

Ruiko put a hand to her chin. "I wanted to see some of those things for myself, but apparently they're being cleared out pretty quickly. Maybe it's a street performance someone put up?"

"Sounds like a lot of work for a street performance." Kuroko said dryly. At the same moment someone laughed crudely up ahead, catching their attention. There was a row of benches along the path they were following; on one of them a couple of girls sat, and a gang of boys had surrounded them with icky grins plastered on their faces. The girls seemed quite uncomfortable, and Kuroko heard one of the boys loudly make a rather obvious pass at them.

"Oh." Ruiko had noticed too, and seemed just a bit uncomfortable all of the sudden, eyes darting to the sides as if looking for alternative routes.

One of the guys reached out a hand to grab one of the girls, and she shrieked and swatted his hand away.

"Honestly, and in the middle of the day too…" Kuroko sighed, and then stepped forward and said loudly: "This is –" She cut herself off suddenly; _Wait - I'm not in Judgment right now!_ Her body froze, but the guys had already turned around, glaring at her sourly; and then their faces lit up into beaming smiles.

"Ooh, a Tokiwadai lady! Hey there cutie, you wanna keep us company tonight?" The guy who talked was a tall one, with short hair streaked with blue and a golden loop dangling from his ear. His entire attitude screamed of delinquent as he smirked and approached them, and his buddies snickered and joined in. Soon she and Ruiko were the ones surrounded by leering boys, and even though the girls on the park bench looked thankful and even worried, they merely threw them an apologizing stare before hurrying away.

Kuroko let a breath out of her nose. _Figures they would just run away._ She couldn't blame them though, and the important thing was that they were unhurt. She looked at the boys around her. _Nothing to lose on it now…_ "I am with Judgment," she said, "please behave."

"Oh my, 'please behave'." The blue-striped hair mimicked. "How proper! It totally turns me on. And this one ain't a Tokiwadai lady, but she's got some nice looks too." His eyes glanced over to Ruiko, who glared right back. She didn't feel afraid knowing the Level 5 Railgun was by her side. She guessed saying they were with Judgment was one way of warning them off before turning violent.

Kuroko watched them all carefully without turning her head. She didn't have her green armband to prove her statement, and she couldn't teleport a spike right in front of his face to scare him off. Neither could she knock him out with a lightning strike. If she threatened them and it ended up in a fight, she might actually be injured, and she had no means to protect Saten-san… This was quite worrisome.

She didn't let any of that worry show on her face though, and gazed at them with a solemn expression while her mind worked.

"I like your type." The guy with the blue-striped hair and the dangling earring sauntered closer. "How about we go… private?" He put a hand on her shoulder, and Kuroko bristled – _how dare you touch the body of Onee-sama!_ _At this point you would already be lying on the ground in a heap – so careless! _

Reigning in her irritation, she sighed loudly. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

"Why, should I?" He continued to grin, and didn't move his hand either.

"In that case, I'll show you." She put her hand into her pocket and took out a coin. The guys followed her movements with puzzled faces; the one in front of her pulled back to watch her.

Kuroko held the coin up, staring right into his face.

He looked at the coin, then stared back at her. "What? You trying to buy me off or something?"

Kuroko blanched. "Don't you—?" _Doesn't he know Onee-sama?_

"Eh, so, are you right in the head?" The guy smirked. "Not that it matters to me; I don't care about your brain at all."

"Gh – you better stop this while it's still fun." Kuroko said, feeling slightly desperate now. "Don't make me use this!" She held out the coin again, and the blue-haired guy stared at it, unimpressed.

"Why are you so hung-up at that coin? Is it worth something? Does your ability involve coins?"

"Wouldn't it be neat if she could multiply it or something?" One of the others snickered.

Kuroko was fired up now. "First off, any moron would know having mass appear where there was none previously is impossible, and secondly; have you never seen a railgun-?" As she said it, she realized of course they might not – Onee-sama didn't fire her railgun all over the place, after all. In fact, most of Academy City's inhabitants had probably never seen a Level 5 and been aware of it. There were only seven of them in this city of 2.3 million inhabitants, after all.

They did recognize the name though. "Railgun? Oh – that crazy bitch from Tokiwadai! What, are you saying you're her?" The blue-haired guy grinned again.

_Guh – _Kuroko could feel her insides twisting around. "I am the Railgun!" She declared. "And if you don't step back, you'll regret it!"

Ruiko bit her lip uneasily. She might have wanted to suggest they stop this while things were still under control, but she knew Misaka-san could handle any situation they might end up in and felt like she would just get in the way.

"Woah, miss high and mighty feel like showing her skills off!" The guy laughed. "Well how about it? I'll take you on! I'm not scared of some little kid."

Kuroko blanched – calling Onee-sama something like that, and in front of her face too… She clenched the coin into her fist, feeling angry and put out. Those girls at school had been so easily scared; but they knew. These guys had no idea that the person standing before them was actually the third strongest Level 5 (well, strictly speaking…), capable of knocking them out cold with as little effort as switching on a light. He probably thought she was trying to scare him with a bad lie (and in some ways, he was right).

The guy in front of them crouched slightly, and the other guys grinned and chuckled. They already formed a circle around the three of them, with no way out. Kuroko eyed the man in front of her calmly, looking for any martial art traits in his stance. Still a sweat-drop travelled slowly down her temple. _If he has an ability…_

"Yeah, let's see you fight my _Wind Razor_!" The man threw his hand in the air, and instantly a gust of wind tore around them, gathering at some point above his hand like a twirl in the air; "I can make the air spin in razor-sharp blades; it's strong enough to even cut through wood." He grinned, and Kuroko stared at the ball of air with dread filling her stomach.

"Misaka-san…" Ruiko was starting to become slightly nervous.

Kuroko gritted her teeth. "Please hold this!" Without letting her eyes drift from the man in front of her she thrust the shopping bag at the other girl, who clumsily grabbed hold of it. _I can't let Saten-san be injured! _Right now, minimizing the damage on her friend was the most important thing.

"– So, miss _Railgun_, you still wanna take me on?" The blue-haired guy was still grinning, the air above his hand spinning in circles like a miniature tornado. There was no way to tell if they were truly as dangerous as he said, but there was no reason to take any chances.

Kuroko gritted her teeth. _What do I…? _On her back was the violin case; it might be heavy enough to inflict some damage, but it was clumsy to wield as a weapon. Her schoolbag was fine enough as a shield for simple kicks or punches, but even Tokiwadai's fine leather bags couldn't hope to withstand a cutting force of air. To even fight properly, she would have to drop both of them, and that would leave her empty-handed. _That leaves me no choice! _She crouched slightly._ I have to strike now, before he – _

"Take _this_!" The guy tossed his hand forward, and the soaring force of wind flew forward like a whizzing Frisbee – Kuroko pushed Ruiko out of the way and jumped aside, barely escaping the blast of wind; she felt it tug at her school shirt. _Crap!_ The guys that were standing in the path of the attack pulled out of the way, but it seemed like the wind dissolved before it could hit them. _So his range is limited. That doesn't help much in this kind of situation though! _She turned back just in time to see him creating another blast of air, and without hesitating, she moved forward –

"As if I'd let you come close!" He shouted gleefully, throwing the blast of air at her again. Kuroko dodged to the side, but she wasn't used to moving about in Mikoto's body like this – the air blade grazed the hem of her shirt and left a rift the size of a finger.

"Guh –!"

"What, you don't have anything to match me with?" The guy laughed and fired a ray of smaller air blades at her – Kuroko ran sideways and felt them as they swept past Onee-sama's hair and skin – _I swear, if you hurt her even a little—! _– but there was no way she could get close like this. It was all she could do to stay out of the trajectories.

"Hey hey, miss high and mighty, what's up with this jackass game!" He snapped his fingers, and the air between them made a curious motion, like a snake of wind – _a whip? I can't –_ Her eyes grew huge.

Then a mighty cry tore through the air, and someone jumped into the circle of guys.

The next thing she knew, someone stood in front of her, shouting at the wind-wielding esper from behind an out-stretched arm: "What the heck are you doing, starting something like this here!"

Kuroko could only see the back of the new guy's head; a mop of black hair adorned it, spiky like it had been drowned in gel.

"Who…" Ruiko, sitting on her knees where she had fallen when Kuroko pushed her, stared at the newcomer as well.

"Who are you supposed to be?" The windy guy snorted. "Her boyfriend? I tell you, she approached us first, so get out _of the way_!" And he threw another spinning wind blade towards them. Kuroko tensed, as if preparing to avoid a train crash – but the guy in front of her merely stood his ground with his right hand out, and then suddenly, the wind was gone, as if blasted away.

"I don't need to be anyone's boyfriend to see a dangerous situation developing!" The newcomer shouted. "Judgment and Anti-Skill are patrolling around here all the time – do you want to get us both arrested for fighting in this peaceful place meant to be enjoyed by couples and friends-?"

Kuroko stared at him, wide-eyed. _He stopped the wind blades? Another esper…_ She felt relieved all of a sudden, a feeling that was reminiscent of that when Onee-sama stepped in to help her during the hardest cases. The feeling that, no matter what happened it would be fixed by the person in front of her.

The thug in front was not so happy though. "Tch, you're irritating. Trying to scare me with bullshit like that?"

"Aah, you should be afraid!" The new guy claimed. "Do you even know who you're trying to mess with here?" He thrust a hand backwards, gesturing to Kuroko. "She's just playing with you! One second longer and you would all be reduced to heaps of smoking trash on the ground!"

_What the heck?_ Kuroko's face fell; was that the reason he had interrupted?

The thug was just as surprised, judging by his frown. "You trying to tell me you saved _us_?" He glanced at Kuroko briefly, obviously unsure of what to believe. Then he snorted. "Peh, you really are her boyfriend, aren't you?"

"I am a concerned fellow citizen who would like my fellow pedestrians to be able to walk home without the aid of a crutch." The spiky-haired guy said. "One wrong word to this one and she's blowing up all over the place – you'll thank me one day!"

The guy tsk'ed again, but he had most likely realized that the fact that his attacks had been stopped without much effort, meant there was no reason to linger. He turned around. "I don't care about this. Let's go."

The other guys followed him obediently, throwing glares their way as they left.

Kuroko was instantly relieved, and Ruiko let out a deep sigh. "Aaah, that scared me…"

The guy in front of Kuroko breathed a sigh of relief as well, and then turned around. "Everything okay, Biribiri?"

_Biribiri—? _Kuroko stared at him. She remembered this guy, but couldn't recall his name. She had run into him and Onee-sama in this very park once – the one Onee-sama referred to as the bastard, moron, idiot and various other foul nicknames, always with an underlying tone of amusement. It irked Kuroko, and she stood there stiffly, glaring at him.

"Um… you sure are silent today." The guy said, albeit warily, while scratching his head. "For a moment it actually looked like you were the one who needed help too… are you all right?"

What could she say? Although she had never really spoken to him, she hated his guts to the end of the world and back. What was this guy to Onee-sama anyway? _Even giving her such a crude nickname! _She was fuming already.

Before she could open her mouth and say anything however, she was promptly interrupted:

"Aaaah!" Ruiko was back on her feet and suddenly stood beside Kuroko, staring at the spiky-haired boy. "Could you be – are you possibly – the legendary street-wise preacher!" Her eyes glittered unnaturally as she soaked in the sight.

"Um…" The monkey-man looked slightly put off, and then rubbed his neck. "Aah, I don't know what the rumors say, but that might be…"

"I knew it!" Ruiko gasped. "I knew it! Wow, I got to see the street-wise preacher in action! That's so cool! He's so cool, right, Misaka-san?" Her glittering eyes suddenly turned to Kuroko.

She was unsettled at the sudden attention, and couldn't say more than a croak.

"Aah, anyway…" the guy said, once more looking at Kuroko, "I might as well ask you now... you don't happen to have seen a guy in a purple suit and top hat walk by? He should be quite distinguishable."

"Purple suit and top hat?" Kuroko's mouth opened on its own.

"Purple?" Ruiko said, blinking.

"Ah, yeah." The boy scratched his neck. "I can't really be very specific, but there's a reason why I need to talk to him…"

Kuroko stared at him openly. The reason being, she _had_ seen a man like that, just last night…

…

…

_In the dark evening, in one of District 7's many streets…_

_WEEO, WEEO; _an alarm was sounding. Flashing light erupted from the broken windows of a jewel store some ways down the street; there was glass scattered all over the ground.

The figure of a person was outlined in the dark; they were obviously not part of Anti-Skill or Judgment. In fact, it looked like this person was just climbing back out of the broken windows after having searched the store for goods.

The figure stood up straight once outside, dusting off the sleeves of their expensive looking suit.

"Not here…" A sigh. "No sign of that brat yet, either; I swear, this is a lot more boring than what I was given the impression of when they approached me with this job…" The voice belonged to a man, and the figure was wearing a suit and a top hat. Since no streetlights in the vicinity were working at the moment, the natural light of the evening was the only thing lighting him up. It gave the clothes a dark color, but if one looked closely, it was possible to tell they were a deep lilac color.

The figure swept a hand out, giving a small sigh, as if bored. The golden cuffs on his suit glinted in the moonlight. "Well, then, I will just –"

"Halt!" Suddenly, another voice tore through the air. Standing only a few meters away was a girl, rather small of stature, and with her hair tied up in two twin pigtails. She was displaying a green armband fastened to her white school shirt, glaring at the figure in front of the goldsmith store.

"This is Judgment! You are under arrest for vandalism and thievery; give yourself up quietly and this will be over quickly." Kuroko gave a confident smirk.

The figure tsk'ed. "I was told the kids in town were pretty interesting, but they're more like a pest."

"These _kids_ have been tracking you down for days on end now; you have nowhere to run at this point." The girl proudly flicked one of her pigtails back, still smiling. "With our satellites aimed in to identify your AIM field, we will find you no matter what you do."

"Hmf. Calling my work vandalism is one thing, but I have not actually taken anything yet. How can you arrest me for thievery?"

"The fact that you have not taken anything _yet _is no reason to assume you are not looking for the right item." Kuroko said, unfazed. "You have vandalized four different jewelry stores in the span of three nights; that is more than enough reason for me to arrest you."

The man smiled. "I see. In other words, you are challenging me. How amusing. Let's see what you've got!" He flung his arm out. "_Candeo 8_!" A series of glowing spheres the size of tennis balls shot out towards her, exploding in a tremendous roar – however, before the trespassing thief could see whether his attack had been successful, the girl appeared directly beside him, with a disapproving expression on her face.

"Resisting will only serve to raise your charges to include assault on a Judgment member. If you continue to be stubborn, I will have to use force to take you down."

"Hahaha!" The cloaked figure let out a laugh of amusement. "You certainly are something!"

"While I would prefer the term some_one_, I will not indulge in pointless duels of words at this time." Kuroko said calmly, looking rather bored. "Will you comply peacefully or make this difficult?"

The figure slowly smiled. "Difficult sounds interesting. It's been some boring days so far! _Candeo Fulgeo_!"

Beams of sparkling light travelled from his fingertips; the girl instinctively teleported forwards, nimbly escaping the attack, while the buildings behind her were bombarded with explosive beams rattling their very foundation. Standing behind the man, she pulled a couple of spikes from the leather belt strapped around her thigh. The next instant, one of the spikes appeared right in the man's top hat, directly above his head.

"If you continue to resist, the next one will be inside your body." She said confidently.

The man was completely still for a moment. It seemed like he might have frozen up.

Then his shoulders drooped. "I see. I guess this is what they meant with 'interesting'." His voice had suddenly changed, from that cheerful tone to one of light puzzlement. "I should not take you too lightly, it seems. _Candeo 30_!" He suddenly spread his arms out, flinging balls of sparkling light in every direction, counting too many to see. Kuroko teleported up onto the roof to avoid the blasts, looking down with a frown as the buildings all around them were damaged by the explosions. _At this rate the whole neighborhood will be destroyed._

She didn't realize until a moment later that she could no longer see the man on the ground below; she immediately grew uneasy, looking up and down the street. _Where'd he –!_

"I see you are a formidable opponent. At this rate I may even be outnumbered. It seems I will have to divert your attention!"

She gasped and turned her head, seeing the man standing on the rooftop one story higher than she. _How did he—!_

The man tossed something to the ground at his feet; Kuroko saw what looked like pieces of paper fluttering in the light breeze around him. _What is that…? _

He raised a hand to the sky. Kuroko gritted her teeth. _I need to stop him—! _But before she could do more than take one step forward, he declared loudly:

"_Colosseus Chaos_!"

"Huh?" Kuroko blinked; there was a shock travelling through the air, like a heat wave. She felt dizzy for a moment, but it lasted only a second. However it was enough time for her to lose control of the situation. The next instant, the man was gone in a puff of purple smoke.

Kuroko was left standing on the rooftop, completely flabbergasted as to what had just happened.

The earplug she was wearing sparked to life.

"Shirai-san, I lost his trace!"

Kuroko blinked, before recognizing Uiharu's voice. "What?" She asked, her voice caught by the miniature device despite its small size.

"He disappeared from my view and I can't find him!"

"Didn't you have his AIM field scanned?"

"Well, yes, but… it's gone." Uiharu sounded just as clueless as she felt. "The readings went completely haywire there at the end, and then they suddenly disappeared completely."

Kuroko gritted her teeth. _Damn, after hunting that guy for three days too…_

She drew a deep breath to calm herself, and put a hand to her head, sighing. "What the heck was that…?"

"Shall I update Anti-Skill?" Kazari asked uneasily. "They will probably be mad at you for going outside boundaries and not waiting for their arrival though…"

"How could they be mad? We are doing a job where they are too slow!" Kuroko barked. It irked her, but even finding a trace of that man had taken them several hours. It seemed like mere luck that she'd been able to confront him at all. Now the trace was lost, and they wouldn't be able to find him again tonight.

Also, she was dangerously close to breaking her extended curfew already. The dorm mistress would not be happy was she to show up at the dorm too late even after having special privileges invoked.

Still… she glanced up at the spot where the man had been standing. Not a trace of him remained. That man had definitely appeared right there, as if he'd teleported as well. But there was no doubt he had been firing exploding balls of light before that. _What kind of esper is he…?_

…

…

Back in present time, Kuroko furrowed her brow. _Now that I think about it… the reason for us being like this… it couldn't be...?_ She quickly shook her head. There was no way this situation had anything to do with what had happened back there! How would that be explained? There was no logical explanation, which meant it was impossible.

"That is ridiculous." She snorted out loud, stomping away her uncertainty.

"Yeah, I guess it sounds kind of silly…" The spiky-haired monkey in front of her rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Well, if you haven't seen him, that's good. And if you do, stay away from him. He's not really someone you'd want to take on."

"Eh?" Pulled out of her thoughts, Kuroko stared at him dumbfoundly. Saying something like that to someone who was (supposed to be) ranked as the third strongest Level 5 made no sense; and how did this guy know about him in the first place? There weren't _two _people walking around in purple suits and top hats, were there?

A cell phone started ringing; the boy pulled it out of his pocket.

"Well, see you around, Misaka. Stay out of trouble!" He smiled and waved and ran off, putting the phone to his ear. Kuroko was left standing there with a perplexed look on her face. He just popped out of nowhere to save them, and then ran off completely carefree, as if there was nothing to it. Not even expecting a 'thanks'. _Is this what Onee-sama…? _Her fisted hands started trembling. _Is this how he usually appears…?_

"Aaah…" Ruiko was still slightly stunned at the entire event that had just transpired. "So… that was the street-wise preacher, heh… so anyway, I was thinking of "

Kuroko gritted her teeth tightly together, watching the monkey-man as he ran down the pathway, talking into his cellphone. _I… I won't lose to this kind of caveman! _

"Wait!" Suddenly, her feet moved all on their own. _I can't let him leave after saying that! If he knows about the man in the purple suit, maybe he knows something about what happened last night! _The spiky-haired boy was already disappearing from her view; without hesitating a second longer, she took off after him and left Ruiko standing at their previous spot, blinking.

"Eeeh?"

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong>

- I'm guessing Mikoto is more advanced than mere "beginner" stage when it comes to playing the violin, but I have no idea really. Violin playing in general is a mysterious phenomenon, though my research yielded some fascinating new knowledge. I am not clueless anymore!

- Three-way chess actually does exist. I saw it in a game shop in Barcelona. Wicked.

- Brain transplantation is a fascinating and creepy subject. When researching this I stumbled upon some pretty disturbing things. Robert J. White was a neurologist dealing in things like this – I suggest you go read up on it yourself if you're interested in knowing more. (Please don't ever google "Russian dog head experiment" if you have a weak heart and/or stomach.)

- To those of you who can't stand Touma: I don't blame you, but I can't escape the fact that he does have a significant role in the Index universe. And in the Railgun universe too, for that matter. Anyhow, in the original material I sometimes like him and sometimes dislike him (or more the way he's portrayed and how everything seem to happen in a way that makes him become the hero), but since this is a fan fic I have the glorious opportunity of writing him in whatever way I want, and in my pretty little universe this is how I'll portray him: As a somewhat clueless, unlucky guy with heroic tendencies, and _without_ focusing on his harem-gathering skills.

- To those of you who _can_ stand Touma: I hope you'll like my characterization of him!

Things are getting… err, serious? (Or just seriously cliché?)

Words and terms (in Latin):

_Candeo _= Sparkle.

_Fulgeo _= Beam.

_Colloseus _= Massive, huge.

**Next time: **More After-School Problems


	5. Part 3,5: More AfterSchool Problems

**Part 3 ½: More After-School Problems**

Mikoto had cracked the code. Being the Level 5 Electromaster and able to utilize her ability to hack into databases or computers from her PDA, she did have some practice in recognizing and decrypting codes. And even being the Railgun, there were obstacles in her path in the form of anti-esper firewalls and traps that were close to impossible to penetrate – for those, you would need normal hacking skill to get through. Needless to say, Mikoto was able to think fast and logically even in the face of seemingly impossible tasks.

She was one who had worked her way from Level 1 to Level 5, after all.

In any case, the code in Kuroko's messy folder system was surprisingly easy, in the end; it only took her about a minute to crack.

The hidden files inside the folders were referring to which numbers in the folder name was to be used in the password.

Basically, _1564 – 12 _meant you should use the first and second number of the folder name. 15. Following this pattern for all the folders and the files inside, Mikoto ended up with the number string _155514111319_.

Of course, that was not enough; the hidden folder did not accept this string as the correct password. While it would be a simple matter to try all different combinations possible for the numbers to see which one was right, that was a time-consuming task without her ability, and Kuroko might have put a restriction on how many times one could type the wrong password before the folder became completely locked for a set amount of time.

However, there was no need to do that in the first place. Mikoto had only needed one look at the string of numbers to realize the pattern. _The numbers that came from the same folder name belong together; there's no doubt about that. Then, there are eight different numbers. 15, 5, 5, 14, 1, 1, 13, 19. _Now, this was the order in which Mikoto had noted them down. It did not necessarily mean it was the right order; in fact, she knew it wasn't.

_This is too easy… _She sighed, and yet, her eyebrow twitched slightly.

It was possibly the easiest code in the course, there was normally no reason to use anything more advanced on a computer like this in the first place; normally, nobody would even try to get into it without Kuroko knowing, and in that case, Mikoto suspected they would be targeting valuable Judgment data instead. However, instead of having this code, you might as well have nothing at all.

Mikoto was slightly disappointed in the lack of challenge. Seeing the numbers separated into those that belonged to the same folder name, it became obvious to her at once.

There were eight numbers. Coincidentally, there was also a word that had eight letters. And if you gave each letter in the Western alphabet a number, starting with A as 1, those numbers _happened _to represent those letters; O, E, E, N, A, A, M, S.

Mikoto felt like she could hear the stunned silence of a group of expert hackers trying to score the hardest password of the year. _It's just too stupid. Oi, Kuroko! This is way below a Judgment member!_

She double-clicked the hidden folder again, and typed in the numerical value of her most common nickname (in terms of times used a day); 151455191131.

Unsurprisingly, she was granted entrance at once. _I swear, that idiot… _She sighed deeply. For someone who found it a game to try and hack herself into Academy City's main databases just to see whether anyone would try to stop her, this was like doing a children's puzzle with four pieces.

_She ought to take some lessons from the Goal Keeper… _she looked tiredly at the screen in front of her, and then suddenly realized what she was looking at.

"Wha –" She spluttered, and her face grew red. Pictures. Tons of pictures. Pictures of _her_; reading manga in a store, stretching out on a park bench, trying to pet a cat, electrocuting a gang of delinquents, looking at Gekota accessories with an embarrassing face… the kind of pictures one would definitely get from the different surveillance cameras around town. Not only that, but there were videos too; from the same surveillance cameras, no doubt. In addition, some of the videos looked like they were made in some cheap video editing software for amateurs where you could add text, effects and music to your own pictures and video clips. One was named "Onee-sama Love Dairy" and another "Secret Pleasure Trip"; the other names were of the same original variants. Mikoto did not need to open them to know what their contents were. Or rather, if she opened them she might end up hurling the computer out of the window in lack of an ability to fry it with.

_That Kuroko...! Is this what you use your time at work for? Spying on me! _Her eyebrows were close to joining together at the bridge of her nose, and she was literally shaking all over.

Kazari suddenly stood beside her. "Shirai-san, look at these measurements…"

"Guah!" Mikoto smacked the laptop shut with the speed of light, and may have just shattered the screen with the force.

Kazari smiled, though seemed a bit puzzled. "Um… is everything okay?"

"Of course!" Mikoto put a cheerful smile onto her face and turned towards the other girl. "What's the matter, Uiharu?"

"Well, here…" Kazari handed her a print-out with some kind of graph, "these are the measurements the satellites did at the time and place of the robbery last night. I wanted you to see them, just in case… don't they seem weird?"

Mikoto gazed at the paper in her hand and furrowed her brow. While she might not know Judgment work in and out (even though she knew a lot having been at the office plenty of times), she did know graphs and measurements. And these were way off-scale.

"According to these, a very powerful ability was used at this point in time." She pointed at the spot where the numbers went really haywire. "Though the ones before also seems kind of serious…"

"Those were picked up during your confrontation; it's most likely from his flinging those balls of light everywhere. But the one right at the end happened just before he disappeared." Kazari said. "I don't remember anything in particular happening at all at that point though. Could it be his teleportation? Though the timing is off…"

Mikoto frowned. So something had happened last night, and by the sound of it, it exceeded normal Judgment work. _That explains those apology letters…_ Wait, had Uiharu just said he was flinging balls of light around _and _teleporting? She looked up at the other girl.

"What kind of ability did the robber have?"

"Well, that's…" Kazari hesitated, "…he is an outsider."

"An outsider?"

"Yes, he's not a student in Academy City. I checked the database for any matches to the AIM field I picked up last night, but there's none. Meaning, he should have no ability at all." She scratched her cheek uncertainly. "Yet there is no doubt he was using some kind of power. Hehe…"

"But he did emit an AIM field, right?"

"Well… the equipment did pick up some kind of reading, so… but it was kind of strange, I guess. It seemed like the computers only picked up the signals whenever he actually used his ability, for one..."

"That does sound strange." Mikoto put a hand on her chin. "An esper can't normally decide for himself whether to be emitting an AIM field or not. Basically, it should either always be present or not at all. Even if he could suppress it somehow, there would be no reason to keep wasting energy on doing so while fighting."

"Then, maybe it wasn't AIM? But what else could it be? Ah—" Uiharu's eyes suddenly widened. "You don't think he's from an outside lab developing espers similar to Academy City!"

"Normally that would be mere fantasies…" Mikoto frowned. _An outsider breaks into a jewelry store without actually stealing anything, and these readings show up, but it seems like it's not actually AIM… Yet he's most definitely using some kind of ability… _She clenched her eyes shut, wishing she were there to have seen it herself. "Gh, that makes no sense."

At that instant, the door to the office suddenly smacked open.

"Hi-ii, Uiharu, oh, Shirai-san too!" A longhaired girl came striding into the room with a brilliant grin on her face.

Mikoto turned around in surprise. "Saten-san!"

"Mou, how many times do I have to tell you to knock!" Kazari huffed, but the longhaired girl only grinned.

"Sorry, sorry, but it was so silent in here I thought you'd need a little wake-up call."

"We are working!" Kazari protested.

"Well, I did send you a message before coming, but I guess you didn't read it." Ruiko said, closing the door after her.

"Oh that's right; it's still on silent mode…" Kazari pulled out her cell phone to revert it to normal mode, and noticed she had a missed call. "Huh? Misaka-san tried to call me?"

"What?" An uncomfortable feeling suddenly clamped at Mikoto's chest. Kuroko hadn't screwed up and punched the wrong button on her cell phone or something, had she? She could just imagine the horrors if she mistakenly ended up calling her parents or something…

"Oh, I met Misaka-san in the park!" Ruiko said cheerfully. "She said nothing about it though, so maybe it wasn't that important."

"I guess…" Kazari put the phone back into her pocket, thinking she could call back later if it turned out to be necessary.

Mikoto was stuck with an unsettling feeling. _Saten-san met Kuroko? But she obviously didn't tell her anything…_ Did that mean Kuroko had no idea how to tell them, or had she concluded it was safer not to let them know? _We really should have talked about this beforehand._

Ruiko gazed at the paper in Mikoto's hand. "Uwah, what's this? It looks complicated."

"Huh?" Distracted out of her thoughts, Mikoto looked down at the paper again as well. "Ah, well…"

"It's important Judgment data!" Kazari huffed. "I said we are working!"

"Well, looks like you aren't getting anywhere, so how about a break?"

"Wah, Saten-san!" Kazari waved her hands. "Please don't spout nonsense like that! We have a lot of work to do; we can't just take breaks whenever we feel like it, ahaha…" She threw a nervous glance at the other Judgment member, but Mikoto was looking thoughtfully at the graph again.

"Don't worry!" Ruiko beamed. "You can just say it's a patrol, right? Nobody would be surprised if there's Judgment patrolling the streets today! And I'm sure Shirai-san needs a break as well, eh?" She suddenly slapped Mikoto's head in a cheerful manner, jolting her out of her thoughts. "How about it, Shirai-san?"

Mikoto looked up at the longhaired girl, rubbing her head. "A break?"

"Don't take that tone as if you don't know what it is!" Ruiko grinned, putting her hands on Mikoto's shoulders. "You are young as well, aren't you? You should know how to live your life to the fullest!" She pumped a fist into the air, and Mikoto found herself unable to find any words to say. How did Kuroko usually interact with these two? Would she insist on Judgment work being more important, or join them? But if she joined these two for some outing, what kind of awkward situations could she end up in?

She was starting to sweat as the pressure built in her head.

"Shirai-san, are you all right?" Kazari suddenly asked, with a worried expression on her face. "You look a bit pale…"

"Woah, are you sick?" Ruiko exclaimed, bending down to stare into her face. "Yeah, you _do _look a bit pale." She suddenly grinned and smacked a hand onto her shoulder in a friendly manner. "If you're unwell, I guess the only medicine that works would be to go check out some new underwear for you to impress Misaka-san with, eh?"

"N-no way… haha…" Mikoto laughed awkwardly, but it didn't seem like the other girls noticed; Ruiko was already turning on Kazari.

"And for you there'll be a whole new set of weekly underwear!"

"Wh-why a whole week?"

"Well, you need to change every day, and if we have one for each day I won't need to check my cell to see which day it is. Let's see, Monday ought to be black since it's such a drag of a day, and Tuesday could be yellow…"

"Please don't use my underwear to check what day it is!"

"So, Shirai-san, what do you say?" Ruiko ignored Kazari's fuming face and looked at Mikoto again, apparently fired up by her own idea.

Mikoto felt her jaw tremble, and forced it to still. _I need to pull myself together. All right, then…_ She drew a deep breath, and then suddenly stood up and exclaimed: "Yeah, why don't we go buy some s-sexy lingerie that will knock over even that bastard!" Her face burst into flame. _Why did I think about h-him all of the sudden!_

The other two stared at her with wide eyes, and her face grew even redder.

"H-hai!" Kazari then said, breaking the awkward silence. "Then, let's go to Seventh Mist, shall we?"

XXX

"Haaah… haaah…" Kuroko was breathing heavily, barely able to stand upright. She had never missed her ability as much as right now, while dragging her feet across the road in front of their dormitory.

She had run off after that spiky-haired boy, but not only did she loose him in a throng of people rather quickly; the fatigue from the gym class soon caught up with her as well. After just a few minutes of running around blindly, she had been forced to give up. She could honestly say she had never been this exhausted before. _Aaah, I can't believe this… there is no way I can keep up with him in this state… _But even so, she was starting to think that following him wasn't the right thing to do anyway. Who was to say he hadn't merely picked up a rumor about the man in the purple suit and just wanted to see him for himself? After that man's continued vandalisms of jewelry stores someone was bound to have heard about it. Even so, the destruction around town alone was enough to start a few strange rumors. That boy might be a rumor fanatic like Saten-san. _In any case, there is no reason to believe he knows anymore about that man and his circumstances than Judgment or Anti-Skill does. Nor is there any reason to believe he is an accomplice. _

Though that may be worth investigating to some degree, right now she was too tired to do much besides move her legs.

The first thing that met her when she entered the lobby of her dormitory was the red faces of a couple of girls who were on their way out. They both pulled back as if scared of her presence. In contrast, a third-year that came behind them merely greeted her in a friendly way.

Kuroko was too tired to answer with more than a brief "hello". Hunched over, she went over to the wall where every room had one mailbox designated, and opened the one for room 208. Without looking at the contents, she merely grabbed them and continued her trek up the stairs.

Once inside their room, she put the violin case on Mikoto's desk as instructed, and her schoolbag beside it. She put the mail on the table between their beds, and then flopped over onto Onee-sama's quilt. _Aaah, the smells of this forbidden place where Onee-sama spends every night… moaning in her sleep… about a certain 'idiot' … _she frowned. Her happy-go-lucky moment was totally ruined by the image of that spiky-haired boy. She sat up in bed, and something rubbed against her thigh. Distracted out of her thoughts, she pulled up her skirt and frowned at the beige shorts Onee-sama had forced her to wear this morning. _Honestly, these things are just a bother! _The girl who always wore leather belts filled with spikes on her thighs made this strange complaint.

But through her displeasure, a ray of light shot past. Suddenly, she grinned. If anyone saw her, they would see a girl staring at the shorts beneath her skirt and grinning like a maniac; possibly she would have been labeled weird without further investigation. Of course, Kuroko _was_ weird (though she herself would never admit that), but if she managed to label Mikoto as weird after only one day of occupying her body, she would probably regret it for the rest of their lives. But Kuroko did not care about that right now. In order to deal with stress and bothersome subjects, a woman needed to feel comfortable in her own clothes. For that reason she had a treasure, a shopping bag of incredible riches which she had bought using Onee-sama's name – and she looked down on the floor, only to realize it was not there.

XXX

"— and then the delinquents turned tail and fled!" While walking down the street, Ruiko concluded her recount of the happenings in the park. Kazari looked pretty stunned, and Mikoto felt like banging her head into the ground. _Of course _HE _had to_ _show up at that moment…! _Though she supposed it was better than Kuroko creating an awkward situation with beating the guy up barehanded, it was still hard to accept as necessary.

"Oh yeah, by the way," Ruiko turned to Mikoto and held up a shopping bag she had been carrying since she came into the Judgment office, "Misaka-san made me hold this earlier, but I kind of forgot to give it back. Could you give it to her, Shirai-san?"

Mikoto received the plastic bag in puzzlement, wondering what this could be. She didn't recognize the store name on the front of the bag, but it put a slight feeling of familiarity in her mind, as if she had seen it before. "She bought this?" Too curious to lay off, she opened the bag to peer into it. "Geh – underwear!" Flashed towards her were colors of deep lilac and red, and not the kind of garments she would normally consider wearing. _Is it clothes or just pieces of string!_

"Whaa, really, really? What kind?" Ruiko grabbed hold of the bag again and tried to look, but Mikoto pulled the bag away.

"No way!" She hurriedly opened Kuroko's school bag and stuffed the entire shopping bag inside, and even managed to close it afterwards somehow.

"Stingy." Ruiko pouted, while Kazari tried to ignore their conversation and look straight ahead, though her face was red with embarrassment.

XXX

Though she would have preferred to put on some of her new purchase, Kuroko didn't despair for too long. While her initial plans may have been warped, she did have a backup plan. She got out of Mikoto's bed and then did something the _real _Mikoto would never even think about doing: She bent down and pulled out Kuroko's suitcase of clothes from under her bed. Rather, it was her personal supply of underwear.

_The difference in size might not be too much_, thought Kuroko as she rummaged through the suitcase. Of course, if she was talking about certain assets on the upper body, the size was actually quite discernible; though Mikoto might be extremely self-conscious about that particular area, she was far from _under_-developed. As for Kuroko, she was one year younger and had utmost confidence in her own body to grow accordingly. Rather, she was as of now thinking about the lower part of the body, and in that sense, the difference may actually be minimal. In any case, she would rather be wearing something she could feel comfortable in as long as she had to keep this act up.

Chuckling like a disturbed mental patient, the longhaired girl – who was not longhaired at the moment – picked out her attire for the day. Certainly, if anyone saw the ace of Tokiwadai gleefully looking through the underwear of her roommate, they would consider rechecking the expiration date on the last meal they ate.

XXX

Like any proper shopping mall, the Seventh Mist had an entire floor dedicated to underwear and lingerie. Just how some may prefer to eat hamburgers and others salads, every human may have a distinct preference for what to wear closest to their skin, and thus the diversity was endless.

Presently, Mikoto felt like she was being watched by a hundred vultures from all directions. Strictly speaking that was not true of course; however, passing by lingerie shop after lingerie shop, it seemed like the eyes of the shop attendants followed her every move. Most likely Kuroko was rumored amongst all lingerie shop owners to be someone who spent a lot of money. Like the cunning salesmen of a southern European bazaar, the eyes followed her closely. She could swear if she looked back they would jump forward and drag her into the store by force. So instead she stared right ahead, trying to ignore them.

"Ah, let's go in here!" Ruiko suddenly exclaimed, pointing to the store to their right. Mikoto vaguely looked over, just enough to see the G-strings hanging on display in the window. She immediately blushed.

Before she knew it, they were standing inside the store.

While Kazari kept blushing, Ruiko boldly pulled out garment after garment and suggested it to her friend. Staying behind them, Mikoto was red with embarrassment and her eyes dodged everywhere; trying to look and not look at the same time. She couldn't help it; these kinds of stores always made her so self-conscious. Bras of different sizes, with different lacings and inputs; transparent corsets and rose-red G-strings; It made her heart beat fast and her face beet red.

There was no way she could hide it.

"Ah, Shirai-san, your face is red!" Ruiko happily twittered, suddenly appearing in front of her.

Mikoto pulled back. "Ah, um…"

"Are you perhaps imagining yourself in a romantic innuendo with Misaka-san wearing nothing but one of these…?" The longhaired girl grinned, holding out a silky top that covered no more than the breasts, really, if even that.

Mikoto reddened even more. "That's just –!" She smacked her mouth shut before she could say anything else.

Ruiko stared at her, and then looked at the piece of cloth in her hand with a scrutinizing look. _I'm acting funny! _Mikoto panicked. _Kuroko wouldn't act like this at all – but how can I even try to act like her in a place like this? It's impossible!_

"Well, it may do more harm than good." Ruiko concluded. Then she grinned. "Perhaps you ought to change tactics! Misaka-san isn't interested in these kinds of things at all, is she?"

Somehow, Mikoto felt like she should defend herself. _It's not that I'm not – it's just that – it's a difference in taste! _Her silent protest fought hard to be let out, but she swallowed it forcefully.

"Oh, how about trying the hard to get approach?" Kazari suggested, joining them. "Ignore her for a few days, and you'll see she'll come running, begging for attention!"

"I would never do that!" Mikoto exclaimed, and then instantly smacked a hand over her mouth. Ruiko and Kazari looked at her in surprise, and she removed the hand, slowly grinning. "I-I could never ignore Onee-sama…" she hesitantly elaborated.

Kazari blinked.

"Huuh." Ruiko said slowly; then she turned to put away the clothing she was holding. "Well, I guess not."

XXX

Kuroko was feeling much better once she was wearing her own set of underwear. It fit perfectly too. As if made for each other!

Smiling contently, she looked through their mail. It seemed like doing something trivial like that was easier than thinking about their situation. _Updated directives on dorm rules, the Tokiwadai student newspaper, a letter for Onee-sama, advertisements from various stores in the Garden… _wait. Her hands stopped, and she backtracked. _A letter for Onee-sama? _She picked up the envelope and gave it a scrutinizing stare. The addressee's name and room number was written onto the envelope by hand – there was no stamp, which suggested it had been delivered personally.

_A love letter! _Kuroko was appalled. It wouldn't be the first time Onee-sama received this kind of horrific letters of course – usually Kuroko shredded them before her roommate even knew she had gotten them. Mikoto had once said she was puzzled at how those letters seemed to cease coming after Kuroko moved into her room – and Kuroko had secretly reveled at her success at keeping her Onee-sama to herself. God forbid one of those letters was from someone Onee-sama would be interested in meeting.

But recently there had been a lot of letters, almost one each day, and she was certain they all came from the same person. _Today I will expose them! _She ripped open the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. The same handwriting was present here, beautiful and calligraphic.

She glared at the paper, reading the words carefully.

_'Misaka-sama, I am sorry for constantly bothering you with my letters, but I fear I might not be able to keep this in any longer… actually, I have something to confess… I don't want to say it in a letter though, as this is quite personal… I feel it every time we walk past each other in the hallways of school or our dormitory… I wish I could talk to you face to face, but your roommate seems to throw me hateful glances whenever she is around, and I was hoping we could meet in a more private setting. Please, meet me under the great oak tree in the Great Oak Park today at four pm. _

_Joanna.'_

Kuroko was trembling, the hand holding the letter tightening into a fist, crumpling the paper in the process. _How dare she—!_ Trying to pierce Onee-sama's heart with something so sickeningly sweet – there was no way Onee-sama would fall for such a put-on shyness! Onee-sama had a rather straight-forward nature, of course she would respond better to direct advances!

_Though, this girl is actually quite direct in this letter, isn't she_… Kuroko pulled out Mikoto's green frog-shaped cell phone to check the time. _15:34. _The Great Oak Park would be about ten minutes away going by bus. She had lost quite some time in the park already; obviously, the girl had taken into account that Mikoto had violin recital today and chose a time that she would definitely be able to make. Not only that, but it also seemed she knew about her habit of going back to the dorm and deposit her violin before doing anything else.

_What is this girl, some kind of stalker? _She was seething, and abruptly stood up, stuffing the letter back into the envelope and then putting the envelope into her pocket. _I'll go teach her a thing or two about stalking my Onee-sama!_

And so, the fuming form of the ace of Tokiwadai left her dorm, seemingly on her way to respond to a challenge she had just been issued.

XXX

They had moved into another store, this one mainly selling exotic swimsuits and underwear in strange forms and of unusual materials (_coconut bra?_). While Ruiko eagerly dragged Kazari over to one strange shelf after another (pulling out a pair of panties with what looked like real metal spikes adorning the entire surface at one clothes rack, and a bra that seemed to be woven of real liquorice at another). Mikoto was just starting to feel like she could look around without having her mind melt down (since the things in here was just too strange to really be embarrassing), when something prickled in her neck. She reached up and scratched the skin, but it didn't help. The prickling continued just as intently. _What is—? _She turned around, and noticed the store keeper watching her from behind one of the clothes racks. His stare from behind the long, black hair he was sporting was like needles, puncturing her skin. She sweat-dropped.

"Shirai Kuroko-san." The man muttered, as if he was uttering the name of a long lost goddess.

"Um… yes?" She tried for an easy smile.

His eyes darted to both sides, as if checking for eavesdroppers. Both Kazari and Ruiko stood further down the section looking at transparent bathing suits at the moment ("Hey, this one dissolves on contact with water!" "What is the point of that!"), so apparently he decided the coast was clear.

"Your… _goods_ have arrived." He said, holding out a packet in a rather suspicious way, as if trying to hand it over without anyone seeing.

"My goods?" Mikoto asked, gazing at the packet cautiously. It was a plastic wrapping like the kind used for underwear to make sure the fabric was untouched before you took it home. Of course, the first thing that entered her mind was…

…_cocaine?_

"Yes, your… special order. It was difficult to get it past the tolling, but here it is at last..."

_What kind of dangerous item is this? _Mikoto was all but a little unsettled. Even though her entire nervous system cried out in protest, she gingerly reached out and accepted the packet. Looking closer, it did seem to contain a piece of cloth. The garment looked much like any other set of underwear, bloody red in color and with just a few frills along the edge. If anything, it looked too common to be something special Kuroko had ordered. Even those that were currently hidden in her school bag were worse. In fact, even Mikoto could possibly be comfortable wearing these.

"I think you will find it to your taste." The man said. "Be cautious though; it is very important the wearer sees you first thing after putting it on."

"Eh?" She looked up at him, a stab of fear tearing through her chest. "T-the wearer?"

"Of course. Like you specified, this underwear has been induced with an extremely strong aphrodisiac. Once put on, the skin will absorb it and the substance will quickly enter the bloodstreams – after that, the first person they see will be the target of their aroused feelings."

Mikoto was paralyzed with terror. _W-what the hell is Kuroko planning to do with this thing? _It felt like she was holding a bomb between her hands. Such an innocent-looking garment – it was the camouflage of something extremely dangerous, possibly lethal!

"I-I don't need something like that!" She exclaimed, handing the packet back to the man. "Please, just, take it back!" _And burn it! _

The man frowned, apparently put off by her rejection. "Shirai-san, this item was specially designed after your special order, and was brought here using less than legal means – do you understand this has cost me a lot of time and effort to pull off?"

_Gaah…_ "I-I'm sorry." She stuttered, looking at the packet again. "I just – I can't accept it, it's too…"

"It is not about accepting, it is about receiving." He did not look pleased now. "We agreed on the price beforehand, did we not? You have already paid me half, and now that it has arrived, you owe me the rest of the money. Don't tell me 50,000 is suddenly too much for your fine lady wallet?"

Mikoto gaped. _50,000—! She's insane! _Furthermore, who was supposed to be wearing this thing? It hardly made sense for Kuroko to put it on herself; did that mean she had planned to make _Mikoto _wear it? _As if! _She knew to stay well away from anything Kuroko tried make her wear – or eat.

"C-can't you sell it to someone else?" She half-heartedly suggested, smiling sweetly.

The man straightened up with an utterly displeased look on his face, and suddenly, it looked like he was radiating black smoke. Mikoto's face broke into sweat, but she kept on smiling stupidly.

"You _will _pay up." The man said levelly, despite the thunderclouds gathering in their vicinity. "…won't you?"

Mikoto shrunk together instinctively, feeling extremely vulnerable. "…h-hai. Of course."

XXX

Kuroko was stalking through the park like a special ops soldier on a mission to infiltrate a secret meeting between the two top bosses of the enemy. Rather, it looked like Misaka Mikoto, Tokiwadai's ace and the third ranked Level 5, was the one stalking around in the bushes like a guerilla, but there was no way the _real_ Mikoto would do something like that… right?

In any case, Kuroko, who obviously still occupied her Onee-sama's body, was nearing her target. _That's the girl._ She was crouching behind a bush, a few leaves already beautifying her hair as she glanced out over the open area shadowed by branches from the Great Oak. Fitting enough, Great Oak Park was called such because of the great oak tree growing in the middle of the park. It was huge, its branches easily covering the area of her dormitory alone – it was also the most cliché place for anyone to have a romantic meeting. There were already several couples sitting by the trunk or relaxing in the shade of the leaves, and even a group or two of merry friends spending their happy little free time together, not that Kuroko cared about them.

Curiously though, many of the girls seen around here were students of Tokiwadai or the other elite girl's schools inside the Garden of Education. Perhaps this serene setting appealed to the rich ojou-samas for dating their boyfriends, or perhaps it was an underground society having their annual meeting; anyway, despite this, Kuroko was still able to find her was already a few minutes past four 'o'clock, and her eyes caught on the form of one lonely girl standing by the trunk of the tree, dressed in the Tokiwadai uniform and fidgeting slightly with her hands clasped, throwing insecure looks all over. No doubt this was the girl waiting for Kuroko's Onee-sama to show up.

_She's so cute! _Kuroko wanted to scream, shaking all over. _No, no, calm down._ She breathed deeply. _Even if she's cute, that's nothing against my explicit charm – there's no way Onee-sama would fall for such a cheap trick! _She gritted her teeth. _Trying to make Onee-sama meet with her at such a place…_ _how is this in any way _private_?_

So, having found her target, all she needed to do now was to sufficiently reject her and scare her away. She had thought up the perfect plan too. And the first step was to make the girl fittingly uncertain by showing up late.

She waited. The girl seemed to grow more and more fidgety as the minutes trudged past, throwing looks all over the place. She looked like she might just start crying any moment. Kuroko was not one to have a conscience for things like this though – quite frankly, she would prosper if this girl started bawling up front.

Finally, when the girl looked like she might just break down from anxiety, Kuroko rose from behind the bushes, brushed off the leaves in her hair and walked forward, slowly approaching the girl beneath the tree. Just as she was in speaking distance however, another girl suddenly appeared from behind the trunk and approached her target, smirking confidently. This girl was wearing the uniform of Ohkanemochi middle school, located in the Garden of Education alongside Tokiwadai. Kuroko halted, puzzled by this sudden involvement. _Is it the wrong girl after all?_

The new girl walked right up to her target and leaned forward to kiss her. The small girl visibly jumped, but then smiled brightly at the offender and returned the gesture.

"Joanna, are you still waiting for that girl?" The newcomer asked.

"I told you not to come here, Kim." She giggled.

The other girl sensually brushed her hair. "How could I not? I haven't seen you all day."

Kuroko was appalled. There was no way she'd been wrong; 'Joanna' was a way too uncommon name in Japan to be a coincidence… but then… _What is this? Is she trying to two-time my Onee-sama? _Fury tore through her veins, and she was close to sprinting over and kick her.

"Oh," at this moment, the small girl finally noticed her standing there. "Misaka-sama, there you are!" She seemed happy, though the girl beside her wrapped an arm around her shoulders and looked down at Kuroko with a smirk. _What's with that attitude? Wipe that smirk off your face when looking upon the ace of Tokiwadai, you mongrel! _Kuroko fumed.

"You are the one who sent me that letter then." She said, fighting to keep her calm. She met the eyes of the small girl squarely. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Ah, um…" the girl blushed cutely, diverting her eyes. "I didn't want you to find out like this, but I didn't dare speak to you while your roommate was around, and she always seems to be… Still, I wanted you to know…"

Kuroko stared at her, not getting it. Did she want Onee-sama to come here only to see her unashamed display with her overprotective girlfriend? She glanced at the Ohkanemochi student, and noticed her confident smirk still directed at her. It irked her to no end.

"Ah, um, Misaka-sama…" The other girl continued, looking at her again. "I – I'm sorry, but – I already have someone else!"

"Hah?" Kuroko looked at her.

"I-I know how you feel – I've seen your looks and I guess my letters only made it worse… but I'm in love with Kim now!" Her hand grabbed at the jacket of the other girl. "I'm sorry, but I can't return your feelings after all." She did indeed sound sorry too.

Kuroko felt her jaw drop. "Gah..."

The longhaired Ohkanemochi student lifted her chin proudly. "I won't forgive you if you try something indecent with my Joanna," she said, "no matter who you are, I will gladly stand up to you."

"Oh, Kiiim~" The small girl squealed and rubbed her nose into her cheek.

Kuroko was appalled. Did these girls – did they possibly think – that Onee-sama was… of all people, _Onee-sama? With HER?_

"How… _how conceited can you possibly be_!" Her shoulders rose as she let out a frustrated cry.

"No need to get desperate." The longhaired girl said, sending her a nonchalant look. "You're not the first person to fall in love with my Joanna. She is quite the cutie after all." She smiled sickeningly down at her girlfriend, who looked back up with a dreamy face.

Kuroko fisted her hands and gritted her teeth, shaking all over. "You really think… you really think…" Her voice was quivering, the rage in her chest building up to dangerous levels. "YOU REALLY THINK I'M INTERESTED IN YOU?" It exploded out of her, immediately attracting attention from several other students in the park. The small girl crept even closer to her girlfriend, seeming startled by this sudden development.

"There's no way I've ever thrown you looks; I don't even know who you are!" Kuroko continued to rant at the girl in front of her, quite loudly so. "Do you realize how many starry-eyed perverts I have to deal with every single day and how many times I've ripped apart disgusting love letters? And yet you somehow manage to convince yourself I… you really think Onee-sama –" Her fists shook; she couldn't go over and punch them, lest she ruined Onee-sama's name forever – yet she was so angry she couldn't even get the right words out.

So instead of speaking… "I AM NOT INTERESTED IN SOME NAUSEATING LITTLE BORE WITH AN EGO THE SIZE OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN!" …she screamed instead. Onee-sama's voice carried quite the distance, but she wasn't paying attention to that, being too riled up. "How conceited of you, to think the Railgun is even acknowledging your presence! You utterly disgust me, and I swear if I see you closer than ten meters away from Onee-sama from now on, I will skewer you to the wall without a second thought! _YOU BITCH_!"

After her tirade ended, an unnatural silence seemed to settle over the park. Obviously, quite a lot of people were staring. Some had even started turning off their cell phones, anticipating an electric genocide to start any moment.

That should have been it. Kuroko would turn around and leave, and never look back – but at that moment, something happened. It wasn't anything visible, like flashing lights or loud crackles. In fact, it was probably not many people who noticed anything at all. Yet it was enough to stop Kuroko's plans of retreat.

"Uh…?" The two girls in front of her suddenly blinked, confused expressions appearing on their faces. While Kuroko observed this strange reaction to her outbreak, the two of them turned their heads to look at each other, and both sets of eyes widened. "Wha – what the! Joanna-?" The small girl gasped at her girlfriend.

The long-haired Ohkanemochi girl pulled back, looking positively frightened. "K-Kim? What's…?"

"Why are you—you're me-?" The small girl shrieked. "What the—!"

Kuroko's eyes widened. _Did they just…?_

XXX

Mikoto sighed deeply. After using Kuroko's emergency stash of cash (hidden in a pocket in her school bag) to pay up, she had returned to Kazari and Ruiko and they had finally left the lingerie store. As such, she was currently sitting at a table outside one of the many small cafés inside Seventh Mist feeling rather heavy.

As shopping mall directors were quick to learn, shopping made people thirsty and hungry, and they were more liable to spend more money in the same mall if it offered means to satisfy those basic needs. And so there was an entire floor dedicated to serving people's need for refreshment. Mikoto was sipping a soda, while Kazari and Ruiko each had a milkshake (and in Kazari's case, also a big parfait) in front of them, currently reviewing their shopping success so far and discussing further plans for the day. Mikoto hardly joined the conversation, being too tired to try and pretend anymore.

In any case, she had never anticipated those two to be so interested in underwear – though Uiharu at least seemed like she was embarrassed inside those stores (and she was trying to tell Saten-san they had to go back to Judgment before long, which the longhaired girl laughed away easily). In the end though, she felt like she was the one who had ended up with the most embarrassing item of the day.

'That Item' was currently hidden in Kuroko's school bag together with the other shopping bag, leaning against her chair. _It's not like I can just toss away something so dangerous so that anyone else might pick it up… _if only she had her ability, she would have made sure to properly destroy it. How had she ended up with several pieces of indecent garments in her school bag…?

She sighed to herself. _Though technically it's Kuroko's schoolbag… What's up with buying these kinds of ridiculous things either way…? _She took another sip of soda through the straw. _Still, I wonder what would happen if I put them on and then saw _him_…_

Suddenly a forceful blast of air travelled down the straw in her mouth and entered the glass, spraying soda all over the table.

"Wah – Shirai-san!" Kazari squealed, shielding her face from the onslaught of carbonated liquid.

Mikoto quickly straightened, her face beet red and heart galloping at two hundred miles a minute. "A-ah, I—!"

Ruiko stared at the display with an incredible expression. "Did you choke on something?"

Mikoto, still red-faced, stood up and knocked over her chair in the process. "I'm sorry!" She spluttered. "I didn't think and – I mean, I was thinking, but it was completely wrong, and then…" Her face was heating up even more, and she felt the gazes from the occupants of the tables nearby theirs as burning pricks on her skin, while the two other girls looked at her with puzzled expressions.

"A-anyway, I'll go get some napkins!" Luckily it seemed most of the soda had collected on the table and floor rather than on their clothes. She turned towards the café and had just walked a few steps when someone suddenly shot past behind her.

"Eh?" She turned around, seeing but Ruiko's surprised face as her eyes followed whoever it was that had just charged past their table.

"Ah—!" Kazari stood up from her seat, staring after a guy who was currently dashing off down the hallway, several curious heads turning to look after him. His clothes looked big and baggy, but he was fairly quick nonetheless. "Shirai-san, your school bag!"

"Wha—?" Mikoto looked at the spot where the schoolbag had been standing just a second ago, and her face paled. "Nuh—" _That thing is inside the schoolbag!_ "Damn it, get back here!" And without stopping to think, she took off after the thief.

"Eh…?" Kazari looked after her with a puzzled face as she disappeared into the throng of people.

Ruiko too sported a slightly baffled look. "Wouldn't it be better to teleport…?"

_I can't let him escape with that thing! _Mikoto gritted her teeth as she slid past a group of teenagers and continued her dash down the hallway, following the trail of surprised and angry people. _At least Kuroko is small, so it's easy to move between them… _She sprinted forward with all her might, Kuroko's short legs working like drumsticks. The guy had reached the escalators, however he choose the wrong one and had to fight his way through a throng of people coming upwards from the floor below. There were shouts and insults flying as he forced them aside, quickly reaching the bottom despite his wrong move.

"You're not getting away!" Mikoto made a leap onto the moving rails of the escalator, and despite the challenge of having one surface move up and the other down underneath her feet, she sprinted down, easily avoiding all the people and simultaneously acquiring quite the attention as people gasped and pulled their hands away when she came darting past.

The man was already on the next floor, elbowing past a lady and aiming for the next set of escalators.

"Hey!" Mikoto shouted. "You are under arrest, you thief!" She jumped off the railings and continued her dash forward. The guy didn't listen, merely continued to push people out of his way with little effort. Mikoto ran up parallel to him and pulled out a couple of spikes from Kuroko's leather belts.

"Listen when people are talking to you, bastard!"

He rudely ignored her. They passed by a group of girls, and an opening presented itself for Mikoto. _Have this! _Stopping just briefly to pull her arm back and take aim, she fired the spikes through the air like dart arrows. They passed right before his face, making him halt abruptly, and hit the neon sign of a store just a meter from him; the entire thing sparked and fizzed as the metal spikes shattered its surface and hit the electronics inside.

The man turned his head towards her and gritted his teeth, and then shifted his direction, running off down the hall past the stores.

"Hey!" She called, dashing after him. The guy still weren't listening, running at full speed. People were jumping out of his way in surprise. _I can't catch up to him like this! _Mikoto gritted her teeth. _But there's no way I can let that item out of my sight either! I need to slow him down somehow…!_

She pressed her borrowed body to run even faster. They were nearing another set of escalators, and she knew there was an exit on the floor below them. People kept jumping out of the way, though at least this meant Mikoto had a clear path as well.

There was a booth advertising some kind of new body soap in the middle of the hallway up ahead; apparently, they were handing out free samples to passerby's. There was a group of people in front of it who was too late in noticing someone charging right at them like an enraged bull; squealing and calling out in surprise, they tried to move, and the man too, trying to avoid crashing into them; instead he hit the table where a stack of square packets of body soap were stacked, sending it all to the floor in a chaotic mess. He managed to keep his balance and set off again, but had lost precious time to his blunder.

Mikoto pulled out two new spikes, one in each hand, and ran right into the mess of soaps on the floor. _This… _she speared two square pieces of soap through their packets with the spikes. Continuing to run, she reached up and pulled out one of the ribbons tying up Kuroko's pigtails. _This is… _She tied one end of the ribbon to one of the spikes, and then did the same thing with the other, before collecting both spikes in one hand and looking up at her target.

"This is my _Trapped Ribbon _attack!" And she pulled her arm back, stopping to bend her body and use her momentum to aid her toss – and fired the soap packets in knee height, aiming at the run-away thief who was just steps away from the escalator, five or six meters in front of her now.

The makeshift weapon of ribbon and spikes with square soap packets attached to them shot through the air with impressive speed; the guy barely threw a glance backwards, having heard her shout, and possibly expecting her to be an esper launching her ability at him – and was met with a most ludicrous sight.

His eyes widened and he made a move, as if to dodge – but the weapon was unpredictable in its movements, and he ended up putting his feet in its exact path. The long, red cloth wrapped itself around his feet with the soap packets as anchors, and he stumbled over into a rack of clothes on display outside the store beside him.

Mikoto grinned and charged ahead again, quickly gaining on the trashing guy trying to get to his feet once more. He had landed face down on the floor, the school bag sliding across the floor in front of him.

"Got you!" She leapt forward and planted one foot harshly into his back. He gasped out and fell forward, face-first into the floor. Mikoto grinned triumphantly as she grabbed for his arms, pulling out Kuroko's handcuffs to secure him. "That'll teach you to steal other people's belongings."

But the guy wasn't looking at her. He was looking up ahead.

"Eh?" Mikoto looked up as well, and saw another student pick up the school bag in one swift move before running off to the escalators.

Her eyes widened. "There were two of them-?"

The new guy was already halfway down the escalator by the time Mikoto dashed off after him. _I can't let him out of my sight; if he's lost in the throng outside I won't be able to catch up with him! _She pushed her way through the audience and down the escalator, leaving the first thug to lie on the floor, cuffed and bound. The second guy was already at the front doors below, where a whole group of people was gathered. He easily pushed his way through, and avoided those that tried to stop him.

_Damn! _Mikoto fought her way down to the first floor and then dashed off after him through the throng of people and out of the doors. Someone called out for her to stop, but she paid them no mind, shaking off a hand that tried to catch her shoulder.

"Stop, damn ii – waah?" Her yell turned into a surprised yelp as she stepped outside the door and her foot immediately sank into the surface of the street.

Literally, it sank. It was like stepping onto what looked like firm soil but which turned out to be a swamp. _But there are no swamps in Academy City! What the heck is this? Oil? _The black substance was sinking downward like a slow drain.

In front of her the guy she was chasing was fighting his way through the substance. His feet had already sunk to his knees however, and he was soon forced to stop.

"What the hell!" He seemed just as surprised as Mikoto was. He started trying to pull his legs loose, but there was no use as the street just kept sucking him downwards.

They had stepped right into a death trap. All around them the same phenomena was happening, compelling pedestrians to back off in order to not get swallowed. Some were not so lucky though, and had already been trapped.

Trapped in a quicksand hole in the middle of street. That is, the asphalt was sinking as if sucked out from underneath the street, pulling everything with it – including the people who had ended up running right into it.

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong>

I split part 3 into two so it would be easier on my brain. I haven't had the time to re-read this part twenty-eight times plus two more though, so the chances for grammar errors and what-not is slightly higher than usual. Still, I decided to post this rather than prolong it even more _just in case_ I get the time. Please note that if you point out any errors you find I will correct them. In other words, please do. Also if there are any places where entire words seem to be missing, that's FF swallowing them up for good measure. Tell me they're gone and I will fix.

I want to thank everyone who reviews, adds the story to their favorite and alert list, and so on! To be honest, I'm surprised to have this much feedback on such a strange story. I assume the list of interested people is rather short compared to other concepts. But, the amount of readers doesn't matter as long as those readers like what they're reading ;)

Words and terms  
>O<em>hkanemochi<em> (大金持) = "very rich person"

**Next time: **Solutions


	6. Part 4: Solutions

**Part 4: Solutions**

Chaos was unfolding outside a shopping mall in District 7.

As incredible as it sounds, a hole of sinking asphalt had expanded to cover the entire street in front of one of the entrances to the Seventh Mist. On the edges of the hole people stood, too afraid to move forward, yet too baffled to just leave when faced with such an unbelievable scenario. Two benches, a trash can and a street light was already sinking, and several people were caught in the death trap too. One had managed to drag himself halfway on top of the trash can, but the others were not so lucky. A little girl, caught in the middle with no way out, was crying in fear while her friends stood by the side and called for her to move towards the edge. She was too far from anyone to allow them to help her without getting caught themselves.

_What the heck is going on? _Mikoto was holding onto the man she had chased down there, trying to keep the last of his upper body from sinking below the surface. It was only so much she could do to hold him back, while her own legs had already been swallowed. She couldn't move, and nobody could reach them. They were, quite simply, in a pinch. _This isn't good! _She looked around hastily for a way out, with no luck. If she had her ability she could probably have pulled them out by applying magnetism to a heavy object nearby, but naturally, that was not possible right now.

"Shirai-san!" Kazari and Ruiko came running towards the open front doors at this moment, shoving their way through the people that were gathered inside.

"Don't come any closer!" Mikoto yelled at them before they too could run into the trap. They stopped, eyes widening as they realized what they were looking at. Mikoto's eyes widened too as she noticed something else. The structure of the mall was starting to bend near the entrance where the two girls were standing. Possibly, the ground below its foundation was slowly turning to liquid, dragging the whole building downwards. At this rate, all the people inside the mall would be in danger too!

"Uiharu-san, we need to evacuate the mall!"

"Wah – ah-!" Kazari looked around in bewilderment, before noticing the same thing as Mikoto. The wall holding the sliding doors were already sinking slowly, bending the glass doors and preventing them from closing. "Aaah, the building is—!"

People around them noticed too, and started backing off. One boy grabbed Kazari's arm to pull her inside. "Don't stay there; you'll be caught in it too!"

"Ah—but—Shirai-san—" Kazari's perplexed words were interrupted by a loud wail; the little girl who was caught in the sinking hole was already down to her mid, and was crying openly.

"Aaah!" Ruiko exclaimed. "Shirai-san – teleport! Use your ability!"

"I can't!" Mikoto was slightly panicked. Since her own body was sinking, she could only just manage to keep the man's upper body above the liquefied asphalt. It seemed like he was sinking quicker than her, perhaps due to his weight. In any case, there was nothing she could do in this situation to help anyone else.

"W-why not?" They were surprised by the instant denial.

"I don't have that kind of ability! I can't teleport!" Mikoto yelled it out without thinking.

"E – wha-?" Both Ruiko and Kazari stared at her in complete wonder.

"Come on, move away from the entrance!" The boy holding Kazari dragged at her arm, and she was pulled off; "Eh – wai – S-Shirai-san—!"

"You too!" Someone yelled at Ruiko. The longhaired girl kept staring at Mikoto for a moment, before looking over at the crying girl, and immediately made a decision. She suddenly dropped their school bags to the floor before leaping right into the sinking asphalt.

"Saten-san!" Kazari cried out, but couldn't do much to fight the man who was trying to drag her off.

"I can't just stand there and watch!" Ruiko called back, forcing her way over to the small girl. "Anti-Skill will probably show up soon, so you go get those customers to safety!"

"Aaah, hai!" Kazari was dragged off.

While Mikoto fought to hold back the man from sinking completely, Ruiko reached the little girl and grabbed her under her arms. With an effort of a heave, she managed to pull her a few centimeters up, but her own feet were down to the ankles now. _This is like syrup! I'll be swallowed too before I can get her anywhere close to safe! _Realizing this was probably not the best idea after all, she was just starting to panic when a noise suddenly erupted up ahead. It sounded like a war cry, and efficiently startled the on-lookers nearest its origin. Someone came running through the crowd, pushing aside pedestrians without even apologizing.

Mikoto's eyes widened when she saw the mop of spiky black hair. "What is he…?"

Touma was holding a cell phone to his ear with his left hand and had a determined look on his face.

"I found it!" He declared this before suddenly bending down and smacking his right hand into the expanding hole of sinking asphalt. A strange sound splintered the air; instantly, the asphalt stopped flowing and hardened into normal asphalt once more. Mikoto barely had time to blink, and the on-lookers too, before Touma stood up and hurriedly said into the phone:

"Do we have a trace of him yet?" Then, presumably after hearing the answer: "Damn! Then where's the next one?" And before anyone could stop him, he then ran off through the crowd again without as much as a word to explain the situation, leaving behind a throng of surprised and baffled people.

It was sudden, but somehow, the danger seemed to be over.

Mikoto blinked.

And then…

"H-hey, wait—!" She moved to follow the spiky-haired boy, which was when she realized she couldn't move her legs at all. Looking down, she saw that even though the asphalt had stopped flowing, it had not returned to its original state as it was before the incident. That is, the asphalt was once more normal asphalt, but there was a crater-like dent in the street where the hole had appeared, and her legs were still stuck below the surface. There was no way she could follow that boy in this state.

XXX

Two girls had kissed each other. Not long after, they miraculously switched bodies.

Kuroko had seen it with her own eyes. She had seen it, but was unable to believe it.

_It's impossible… _that, of course, was the first reaction one normally would have. Even for Kuroko, who had experienced something similar firsthand, it just seemed too incredible to be true._ They may have tried to throw me off with a stupid performance… _She tried to make sense of it in her head. _Or were they suddenly hallucinating? A telepath could have been manipulating them from a distance…_ The two girls had run off looking terrified. Kuroko hadn't been able to follow them to try and question them. She had been too shocked to move a muscle at that moment. _Is the culprit an esper after all? Even though that's hard to believe… _She shook her head slowly. It felt like she was trying to force too much information into her head at once. By simplifying the process, it should be easier to find a solution.

Fact 1: Two girls had kissed, and then (apparently) changed bodies.

Fact 2: There was no way anyone could change bodies without some kind of outside interference. This in turn led to fact 3: Someone must be behind this. So basically, the only thing Kuroko needed to find out was who or what was behind it. Even if the how or why was left unanswered, the most important thing was to end it. _This is easy! _Yes, if only it was. The fact was this was anything but easy. Nevertheless, her instincts as a Judgment member were awakening. _This is a serious crime no matter how you look at it. And speaking of looking, will you people stop staringgg! _

Even while walking down a street like this (reason long lost in a whirl of confused thoughts), people were looking; everywhere, they stared at her like she was some kind of unique item on display. She glared randomly at a passing student, who flinched and jumped away. Even if they didn't recognize her by looks, and despite the lack of any crackling electricity, it still felt like it was safer to keep distance. Basically, the malice radiating from Kuroko was too strong to ignore. Of course, most of the people just noticed her Tokiwadai uniform and thought nothing more of it, but to Kuroko it seemed like they were analyzing every inch of her borrowed body. One boy who passed by nudged his friend and said: "Wow, check that Tokiwadai babe!"

And while his buddy actually did answer something along the lines of "What are you on about? It's freaking middle school student," Kuroko only grew more and more rigid.

_Looking at Onee-sama so unashamedly… _It was too much for her to tolerate. This entire day, all the trouble she'd faced, and every single person who had approached her – it was grating on her nerves like a vegetable shredder on bare skin. _I'll just avoid them! _Determinedly, she turned towards a convenience store to her left, and entered through the automatic doors. As the glass doors closed off behind her and the cool air of the store touched her skin, she let out a deep sigh._ I need something to drink. _Her eyes found the cooling section of the store, and she went over, looking at the different kinds of drinks displayed. Then it struck her that she might not have the money to pay for it. _Does Onee-sama carry an extra credit card for situations like this? _She seemed to remember Mikoto saying she didn't. Not that it would help her anyway, as she did not know her pin codes. _Maybe she has some change… _she checked her pockets, finding only game arcade coins. It was unlikely they'd want to be paid with those, even if she tried smiling her sweetest smile, which would of course be tenfold effective when coming from her Onee-sama. In fact, maybe it would work…

"Hey there, may I help you?"

"Hm?" She turned her head, and was looking right at the store clerk, a guy who looked to be in his early twenties. He smirked at her, leaning on the rack of wares beside him in a posture that was obviously practiced to give an impressive air, yet which failed somewhat due to the white store clerk apron adorning his body.

"You look like you're uncertain for once. Lots on your mind?"

_What is up with this guy? _Kuroko stared at him dryly. "I am fine, thank you." Not like this was a clothes store where the clerks might actually be of some help. Did he want to assist her in finding the right taste? In that case, he might as well get a job as a waiter at a restaurant.

"So, you often alone?" The guy asked, the smirk still not leaving his lips. Judging by his posture, he was trying to look handsome. Kuroko was in no way a specialist in deeming the attractiveness of the other sex, but he did seem quite plain, from his short ruffled hair to his grey sneakers. Despite her inability to judge his attractiveness though, his words were starting to ring warning bells in her mind.

"That is none of your business." She said, turning around to leave without buying anything. It wasn't like she had nothing better to do.

"How about you join me for dinner?"

She halted, surprised; not that she hadn't expected it, but so quickly? Her surprised expression might have been misunderstood, as he smoothly continued: "Come on, don't tell me you've never been asked out before? I've seen you plenty of times in here, and even though you're young I really like you, you know."

Kuroko gave him a deadpan stare. "How can you like someone without even knowing them?"

"Oh, but I know a lot more about you than you'd think, Misaka-san."

_So he knows her name. Big deal. _That was on the same level as recognizing the president of the United States on the street. Kuroko, unfazed by his advances, kept looking at him levelly. "So you are a stalker?"

"Haha!" The guy suddenly laughed loudly, earning the attention of several other customers inside the store. "Man, I guess you _are _bothered by a lot of those." He wiped his eye with a hand, chuckling still. _Is this also a practiced act? When his direct advances fail, he resorts to easing up the mood by laughing? _Kuroko glanced over at the cashier, where a few people stood waiting to pay for their wares. Obviously, he was the only one at work right now, and yet he was wasting his time trying to hit on a girl way out of his league. "I'm nothing of the sort though; but to be honest, I wouldn't mind seeing you more than I do." He was grinning again. "Don't look too much into it; I just feel like we could be good friends, if we got to know each other."

_Oh really? _And how much would this sleek guy have in common with Tokiwadai's Railgun? She sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "You could you at least try to be a little more original."

"Wha –?"

"Can you imagine how many people ask me every day to have a 'friendly dinner' or a 'harmless chat' over a cup of tea?" She sighed deeply, and he fumbled.

"Ah, I guess there's a lot, but still…"

"What makes you think the ace of Tokiwadai has the time to get acquainted with every single person who asks her out?" Kuroko continued, huffing. "Such a cliché line is never going to lead to anything but laughs at your pitiful state."

"Hey, come on, I'm asking you in a friendly manner here; it's not like I'm asking you to be my girlfriend or anything. What do you want me to do, ask you to go horse riding or something?"

"Well, I suppose expecting anything better from your kind is too optimistic. Though that is for the better."

"What the heck, don't act so cocky!" Suddenly, his fuses seemed to be lit. "I was just thinking you always seem to be alone, so I wanted to offer you a chance of getting out! Don't you ever go on a date or anything? Sooner or later you'll have to start living your life like any other girl, you know!"

Every other person inside the store was staring at them now. This was partly because of the fact that there was no way for any of them to buy their wares and leave while the only store clerk at work was chatting up a girl.

Kuroko gave an annoyed sigh. "Really, this is ridiculous. Making such a scene over getting rejected – what, will this make you lose a bet with your friends or something?"

"Jeez, what's up with you? With the way you've been looking at me every time you're in here, it was obvious you—" He was cut off mid-sentence, as Kuroko finally snapped.

"I DO NOT LOOK AT YOU, I WILL NOT DATE YOU, AND IF YOU EVER WANT TO TALK TO ME AGAIN YOU BETTER BE READY TO TAKE ON MY ONE AND ONLY PARTNER IN A MATCH OF LIFE AND DEATH!"

And with that announcement, she strode out of the store, leaving behind a stunned store clerk, several shocked customers, and feeling like she was trapped in the middle of a candid camera show. _What is up with all these people? Do they only try their luck because of Onee-sama's status? _If anything, this annoyed her even more than his advances in the first place. Then again, if he'd tried to make a move without knowing who she was at all, she would probably be equally angered.

In short, _nobody _should make advances on her Onee-sama, for any reason at all.

XXX

In the end, one of the on-looking students stepped forward and punched the asphalt to pieces with his ability, freeing Mikoto and the guy she had been holding, as well as the other people that had been trapped. The little crying girl had almost been swallowed entirely, but thanks to Saten-san her head was still above the surface. As a result, Ruiko's arms were buried. When she was finally freed, the little girl clung to Ruiko and cried her heart out, and Ruiko did her best to soothe her.

When everyone was free and checked for injuries (luckily there were none besides a few scratches), Anti-Skill closed off the area and shooed everyone away, including the Judgment members. It seemed like Kuroko's school bag had been lost deep in the ground, but Mikoto wasn't about to complain. Given the circumstances, it was probably the best way to get rid of it.

She sat down at a bench some distance away from the scene, and sighed deeply. "Man, what a messy day. There's no way this was caused by that woman with the asphalt manipulating ability, right…?" She scratched her head tiredly, remembering a scene in a back alley that took place earlier in the summer. Though she would like to catch up with that moronic hedgehog and demand some answers, there was no way she would be able to find him and catch up with him now.

Ruiko, who stood in front of her after handing the small girl over to her friends to be taken care of, looked troubled. She didn't say anything before Kazari came over to them however; the flowery girl was shaking her head.

"Anti-Skill told me to return to Judgment headquarters for an update later on… I think they're still not sure what's going on…" She had barely had time to start the evacuation before Anti-Skill took over. The adults were thankful for the help, but said they had it all under control.

"No wonder, it's not like this has an obvious explanation up front." Mikoto sighed tiredly, while thankfully accepting the long red ribbon Kazari handed her, and started retying her long unruly hair into two pigtails.

Ruiko stood watching her, seemingly conflicted about something. Kazari shared a look with her friend, then sighed and looked over at Mikoto as well.

"Ah, Shirai-san…"

"Hm?" Mikoto looked up to see their troubled expressions.

Kazari hesitated for a moment, before saying: "Um… you've been acting kind of weird today… a-are you okay…?"

"It's kinda obvious she isn't, isn't it?" Ruiko said, looking from Kazari to Mikoto. "She's acting completely abnormal, and didn't even teleport out of that quicksand thing." She walked forward and put a hand on Mikoto's forehead. "Don't tell me you're sick after all!"

Mikoto was perplexed at first. But she realized their reactions were pretty natural. She had been doing things that made no sense under normal circumstances.

Before she could say anything however, Ruiko suddenly gasped dramatically and pulled back. "Or – don't tell me – you're actually not Shirai-san at all!"

"Saten-san!" Kazari exclaimed in shock. "Just because she's a bit –"

"This ain't just _bits_, Uiharu! She's completely whacko!"

Mikoto sweat-dropped; Ruiko pointed an accusing finger at her and declared: "You are not Shirai-san at all! You are, in fact, a Clone Bug who has taken her form!"

This left her with two completely puzzled stares.

"Eh?" Mikoto said.

Ruiko clasped her hands together, and suddenly, her eyes were shimmering. "Aaah, I can't believe I got to see a Clone Bug!" Her reaction had just taken a complete 180 in a second's time.

"Wha…" Mikoto was completely flabbergasted, and judging by Kazari's face, she wasn't much wiser.

"S-Saten-san…" the flowery girl stuttered, "what in the world are you…"

Ruiko pulled out her phone, pushed a few buttons and then showed the screen to them. On it was an internet site they were quite familiar with; 'Urban Legends of Academy City'. And the top story, it seemed, was something about 'Chaos unfolding in Academy City – new discoveries of its origin!'. "See here!" Ruiko declared. "This is the hottest topic on the net right now!"

"Is that a world-wide statistic?"

"You know all the whacko things happening around town today?" Ruiko continued in an excited fashion. "At first they thought it was drugs or mass hallucinations, but now someone says there's been an outbreak of experimental bugs from an underground lab!"

Mikoto sweat-dropped. "Um… who exactly said that?"

"The Clone Bug is amongst the escaped bugs. It bites its host and transforms into their twin by copying their cell data. But since they're bugs, the personality doesn't quite match – and that explains why you're acting so strange!" Ruiko excitedly delivered her discovery to the two of them.

Mikoto had no idea what to say.

"But how can a bug get as big as a human?" Kazari asked an elementary question.

"But that's not all!" Ruiko exclaimed. "They say the outbreak was caused by a man in a purple suit who is using them as a distraction while he carries out his misdeeds!"

"A man in a purple suit?" Kazari squealed, eyes wide.

"Of course, the Clone Bugs are just part of his distraction technique. He's been using his ability to cause trouble all over town as well; a lot of people say they've been struck by strange phenomena already – like this one here, has had a constant itch behind her ear ever since meeting him last week. And this guy mysteriously failed an English test the other day…"

Mikoto sighed deeply. "That's one far-out rumor…" While any explanation was better than none, this didn't feel like an explanation as much as a seriously whacked storyline of a B-movie. Sighing, she muttered tiredly: "It would be so much easier if there was an ability out there that could change people's bodies around…"

"Aaaaah!" Ruiko let out a loud squeal and pulled back, staring right at her with wide eyes.

"An ability to change bodies?" Kazari squeaked, and Mikoto instantly stiffened. It seemed like she had just said that out loud.

"Aaaaaah!" Ruiko said again, once more pointing at her accusingly. "You just admitted it! You _are_ a Clone Bug – you have taken Shirai-san's appearance and are trying to trick us so you can clone us as well!"

"What—? No, I'm—"

"I wonder if I'll get a ransom if I capture you in a jar!"

"Wait—"

"Uiharu, you gotta help me out! We'll split the money!"

"Aaah…"

"Listen to me!" Mikoto yelled, standing up from the bench. "I'm not some freaking bug; I'm Mikoto!" And just like that, it came out. Her insides instantly froze up, as if she'd just blown up the entire street.

"Misaka-san?" Kazari squealed, wide-eyed.

"Ah –"Mikoto stared back at her. "I-I mean…" Then again, what did she mean if not that? Was there any use trying to hide it any longer? She might as well tell them everything now, if the alternative meant having them believe she was a strange creature from some shady underground lab.

She opened her mouth hesitatingly. "Um, I – I don't know why or how, but this morning, I woke up in this body…" Her voice faltered. _Why do I get the feeling I'm just saying something completely weird-?_ If someone who knew how to explain this properly was to show up at that moment, she would be extremely grateful.

However the longhaired girl in front of her nodded confidently, one hand on her chin. "Right, right, that explains it all."

_It does?_ Mikoto sweat-dropped again.

"I see now." Ruiko said, as if she was a detective investigating a murder scene. "Then there is only one thing left to do."

"What?" Mikoto found it hard to know whether the other girl actually believed her or not.

Ruiko grinned again. "To make sure you're not a Clone Bug fooling with us, show us some proof that you are indeed Misaka-san!"

"Aah, Saten-san, Shirai-san, please stop fooling around!" Kazari squealed. "It's not funny!"

"Oh, but I am dead serious." Ruiko said dramatically. "We must not let ourselves be fooled. They say that people have been kidnapped after being cloned! After all, if someone saw a lot of identical people it would be hard to make them believe they are all twins!"

_I suppose that's true… _Mikoto was troubled. _Wait, am I actually considering this as an explanation? _She quickly shook her head.

"Aah..." Kazari hesitated; she wasn't really sure what to believe anymore.

"So, this is pretty simple!" Ruiko said, pointing at Mikoto again. "If you're really Misaka-san, prove it! Fire a railgun or something!"

"Nuh –" Mikoto was put off at how this had turned out. She hadn't really thought about how people were going to react when she told them, but this was way beyond her imagination. A simple '_Haha, yeah right!_' would have been plenty.

"I-I would if I could!" She spluttered. "But this change of body seems to affect our powers as well – I can't use my ability!" It sounded like an awful excuse. _But it's true!_

"How convenient." Ruiko grinned, putting a hand to her chin once more. "A powerless Level 5 in the body of a Level 4 pervert."

"It's not convenient at all!"

"BUT!" The longhaired girl suddenly declared, abruptly pointing a finger into Mikoto's face, "If you really _are_ Misaka-san, you would be wearing shorts under your skirt, right?" And she pulled up Mikoto's skirt before she could even process what the longhaired girl had just said; revealing the embarrassing rose panties Kuroko had forced her to wear this morning. Mikoto's face exploded with embarrassment.

"Saten-san!" Kazari squealed, blushing as well.

"See, no shorts; you're not Misaka-san." Ruiko said proudly. "So that means, either you're a Clone Bug, or you're still Shirai-san, only with a very strange sense of humor!"

"I told you, I'm not Kuroko!" Mikoto barked, pulling her skirt back down. She was literally burning up by now; it didn't help that several eyes on the street had grown very large at the display. "And don't just pull up people's skirt like that!"

"Then where is the real Shirai-san?" Ruiko asked; judging by her smug smile, it seemed like she was enjoying this.

"She's occupying my body! And she's probably off doing something creepy to it in the bathroom or –" Mikoto's voice cut off and her eyes widened; _she might actually be doing something like that!_

"I-I'll call Misaka-san," Kazari said, pulling out her phone.

"Yeah, that'll do it!" Ruiko grinned at Mikoto. "Just you wait: Once the Railgun shows up here, she'll blast you off your feet faster than you can say six-legged creep."

"I'm telling you; _I'm _Mikoto!" She might as well try to convince a trout she was the Queen of England; Saten-san either did not understand her words, or cared very little.

XXX

There was a croaking sound in the air, as if a choir of frogs had decided to have their annual meeting right at that very spot. Kuroko, pulled out of her desperate and tired thoughts that continued to twirl around in an endless loop, recognized the ring tone. _Onee-sama's cell phone! Who ever calls her?_ Immediately digging her hand into the pocket, she pulled out the green, frog-shaped cell phone and opened it to answer.

"Yes?"

"Um… Misaka-san?" The hesitant voice of Uiharu entered her ear.

At that moment, Kuroko froze. _How does Onee-sama answer her? Is she friendly? Happy? Serious? Or is she flirtingly naughty, suggesting horrible things…_ suddenly, the air around her was crackling with dark energy.

"We took Shirai-san out for a shopping trip, but she's acting kind of weird…" Uiharu continued, "…and now she's suddenly saying that she's actually you… eheh…"

"Is Onee-sama there with you?" Kuroko answered in a strained tone of voice; her entire body was trembling.

"Hai?" Uiharu sounded like she'd just heard something incredible.

"Let me talk to Onee-sama!" Kuroko bellowed, and Uiharu gave a small squeal; then there was a lot of sounds as the phone were transferred to someone else.

"Kuroko!" Her own voice rang into her ear all of a sudden; it was an awkward feeling. Yet Kuroko had no thoughts to spare on that, despairing from this tiring day and all the horrible experiences she'd had so far.

"Onee-sama! How could you!"

"What? No, never mind – just get over here and help me explain what's going on!"

"Onee-sama, to go on a shopping date without me – and even hiding the fact that you have suitors all over Academy City – Kuroko is…"

"What the? Listen, Kuroko –"

"AAAAH, Onee-sama~"

"STOP WITH THE ONEE-SAMA ALREADY AND MOVE YOUR ROTTEN CORPSE HERE THIS SECOND!" The bellow tore through her eardrum like a chopstick through a sushi roll; some of the students around her on the street even jumped at the loud sound. Kuroko grimaced.

Of course, there was nothing else to do: "H-hai, I will be there in a minute!"

But Mikoto had already hung up.

XXX

Kazari and Ruiko stared at a heaving Shirai-san; or rather, as they figured, Misaka-san. No matter how incredible it sounded, there was no doubt to them that Shirai-san would never have yelled like that at her beloved Onee-sama. Unless she was insane, which of course may be a possibility judging by everything else that had happened so far today. In any case, Clone Bugs or not; something was definitely wrong.

Mikoto thrust the phone back in the direction of Kazari as if it was a borrowed handkerchief. "Thanks, Uiharu-san."

Kazari gingerly reached out and took the phone. "Um…" She didn't know what to say really, so it ended up being something completely normal: "Does she know where we are?"

Mikoto drew a deep breath and straightened; laughing lightly, she said: "Aah, what a wonderful day!"

Sweat-dropping, Kazari silently opted for sending their GPS location to Misaka-san's number. Ruiko was rubbing her chin thoughtfully, observing Mikoto laughing and giggling and twirling around as if she was a young maiden in a flower field.

Then she pulled out her own cell phone and started surfing the net.

XXX

Kuroko finally reached the spot Uiharu had sent her on the phone; she was breathing heavily, having run all she could for ten whole minutes. She may have broken a few records in that time frame.

Saten-san was still deeply engrossed in her cell phone, and Uiharu stared at Kuroko with an awkward smile.

"Um, Misaka-san… or, Shirai-san… eeh…" She faltered. It was no doubt Misaka-san that stopped and leaned on her knees while breathing for a few seconds; could it really be…?

Kuroko immediately spotted her Onee-sama and slung herself over into her arms, nearly knocking her off balance. "Aaah, Onee-sama, it has been a terrible, horrible day!" She sobbed into her own chest.

_It really is her! _Kazari was speechless with shock.

Mikoto pushed her roommate away fiercely. "Don't do strange things like that; people are looking!"

"Then let them look!" Kuroko claimed. "Let them see true love as it was meant to be shown! Let them witness our blooming feelings erupt into rays of sparkling bliss!"

"I don't even know what language you're speaking!"

Kazari stood there with an incredible look on her face; she was completely flabbergasted. On one hand, there was Shirai-san trying to push Misaka-san off with all her might, and on the other, Misaka-san trying to throw herself at her roommate. She had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't just imagining things.

"Aaah, Onee-sama, this day has been utterly horrible!"

"You're not making it any better!"

Kuroko finally pulled back, tears springing forth from her eyes. "All the stares, the attention; this horrible situation… Onee-sama's painful suffering… At this rate, how will we be able to marry…?" She stared at her hands in pure terror.

"You're worrying about the wrong thing; and don't just decide for yourself who you're going to marry!" Mikoto yelled at her.

Kuroko wasn't listening, muttering to herself; "Uiharu and Saten-san as bridesmaids… seven-floor wedding cake with a figure of ourselves at the top… aaah, Onee-sama in a wonderful white smoking!"

"Sheesh, I can't follow your craziness…" Mikoto tiredly massaged her temple.

"Ah – Onee-sama, allow me!" Kuroko instantly perked up and moved forward with her hands outstretched –

POW! Her face abruptly collided with a very hard, very pointy elbow, and she fell backwards in a heartbeat.

Mikoto glared at her from above. "Don't come near me! And furthermore, this is _your_ body – don't make me do perverted things to it!"

"I was only going to give you a relaxing massage…" Kuroko claimed from the ground, rubbing her stinging nose.

"I don't need it!"

"Aah, if only you would let me take care of you now and then, Kuroko would make sure you'd always be at ease!"

"I said I don't need it! And stop making that stupid expression with my face; I'll tear it off!" Mikoto pulled out three spikes from one of the leather belts under her skirt and strode forward with an enraged face. It seemed like she had finally snapped.

"Uwah!" Kazari shrieked and jumped in between them with her hands outstretched as if to block the view; "Misaka-san, please remember that's your own body – if you hurt it anymore, it'll be bad when you return to it (assuming that's how things work)!"

"Nghh – you're right." Mikoto conceded, pulling back. Then the pigtails she was sporting suddenly fluttered as she turned to point one of the spikes at her own arm. "I should hurt _this _body instead!"

"AAAH! ONEE-SAMA!" Kuroko shot past Kazari and threw herself onto Mikoto, almost knocking her over again. "Onee-sama, what has gotten into you! Resorting to self-harming in order to gain my attention is not at all necessary!"

"That's not it, you idiot! I swear, one more word from you and –"

"I've got it!" The sudden outburst that split into their escalating fight originated from Ruiko; she suddenly looked up from her cell phone and stared at them with beaming eyes. "I found it!"

"Eh?" Kazari said, thankful for the interruption; she had no idea what to make of this anymore and would rather not be forced to pull the two apart.

"I found this site where lots of people are discussing the strange things going on," Ruiko said, showing off her phone to them, "and your problem is on here too!"

XXX

Since they felt like discussing things in a more private place than in the middle of the street, they settled in a corner in a fast-food restaurant one street down from where they originally were. Gathered around the table, they all felt kind of incredulous at the events that had transpired so far today.

After everyone had ordered something to drink and sat with their respective choices in front of them, Ruiko started to share her discovery.

"There are others that are experiencing the same thing as you two! Who switched bodies!"

"Wha – really!" Kazari seemed rather perplexed.

"I had to dig quite a bit to find it, but it's definitely here!"

"Does that mean you believe us when we say we're not bugs?" Mikoto asked.

Ruiko put a hand to her chin with a grin. "That's not certain yet, but I'm willing to go along with that explanation for now."

"Great… so is this something that has potentially struck the entire town?" The thought that someone else was having these kinds of problems didn't sit well with Mikoto. Suffice to say, whoever it was that started this would have a hard time coming up with an acceptable reason to avoid being electrified (once she could actually do that again).

"Even if that was true, there seems to be certain circumstances that must be met before it happens, since it hasn't struck everyone." Kuroko said thoughtfully. She remembered seeing several couples in the Great Oak Park kissing – yet they had not been changed around. Thinking back to Hitomi-san and Asanuma-san, and the two other girls… there must be some sort of connection.

"Ah, yeah, it's only two or three users saying it's happened to them; not that many… according to their profile they're all girls though." Ruiko said, scrolling down the forum.

"Being girls alone can't be the trigger though…" Kazari said, sipping her soda.

"Does it say anything about their circumstances?" Kuroko asked. "Are they couples, for instance?"

"Eh? No, it doesn't say… wait, this one says 'me and my girlfriend'! So is that a requirement?"

"How could it?" Mikoto asked. "It's not like we fit that criteria at all."

Ruiko looked over at her in surprise. "Oh… you two aren't…"

"Don't say that like it only just occurred to you!"

Kazari hmm'ed thoughtfully while a waitress walked past their table, throwing them a curious look. "In that case, something else must be the deciding factor as to whether it happens or not."

"Well…" Ruiko started, "could all the girls be roommates?"

"Not likely." Kuroko dismissed the thought at once since the two girls in the park had obviously been from different schools. "Rather, in the cases I know of it happened after sharing a kiss. Perhaps this condition only affects girls who—?" She halted, suddenly realizing what she was saying.

"Kiss?" Kazari asked, an incredulous look on her face.

"So you're saying those girls changed bodies because of a kiss?" Ruiko asked, staring back into her cell phone as if trying to imagine something like that.

Mikoto frowned. "But that still doesn't explain why we…" Her voice died down however, as if she realized something.

"Eh…" Kuroko felt awfully sweaty all of the sudden. In her eager to share her thoughts and come up with a possible solution, she had forgotten one important detail. "O-of course, that is…" She smiled stupidly.

"Kuroko." Even though it was her own voice, hearing her name uttered like that made a shiver run down Kuroko's spine. She turned her head stiffly to look at her roommate. Mikoto's expression was completely unreadable.

"H-hai?" Kuroko smiled stiffly.

"I know this must sound ridiculous. But if the only thing in common between us and those other girls is a _kiss_, and since I can't remember kissing _anyone_…" Kuroko felt more and more sweat gather in her neck, "…it couldn't possibly mean you kissed me last night after I fell asleep, could it?"

Kuroko grinned stupidly. "W-why, of course, Onee-sama, to do such a thing I would…" For some reason, a cloud of black smoke seemed to erupt from the girl beside her, and she pulled back abruptly. _Did she just develop a new ability—?_

Mikoto turned around and looked at her roommate, a frightening small smile plastered onto her face. "Did you, Kuroko?"

"G-g-gh…" Kuroko stuttered; but there was no escape. With her sitting closest to the wall, and without her ability, there was no way she could avoid the eruption in front of her. "H-hai… I – I might have pecked you a little on the cheek… surely not a big deal, Onee-sama…"

"But if only a peck on the cheek was enough, wouldn't that mean a lot more girls would be affected?" Kazari innocently pondered, one finger on her chin in thought. Kuroko stiffened, and Ruiko stared at Kazari with enormous eyes.

"I see… _pecked on the cheek_, did you… heeh…" Mikoto gave a dark laugh, like a deranged serial killer about to leap at an unfortunate victim.

"O-Onee-sama…" Even though she knew they did not have their abilities right now, her borrowed body was acting on its own, all defensive mechanisms on high alert.

"A-ah, wait!" Ruiko suddenly screeched, catching their attention. "Uh, if it's like that, then how to end this could be very easy!" Everyone stared at her, and she flinched. "Um…" her eyes shifted nervously from Mikoto to Kuroko, "that is… do you want to know…?"

"Yes, please." Mikoto said.

"Um, okay…" She looked pretty nervous, but probably felt like she couldn't withdraw at this point, and so she dove forth; "It's pretty common in these kinds of stories that the same event that triggered the curse will also end it!"

Kuroko felt her death sentence right then and there.

"Oh, you mean like when someone bumps their head and their personality is completely changed, the next time they bump their head they become normal?" Kazari brightened.

"Exactly! So basically, if you guys were to kiss again, maybe you'll change back!"

—And that was the nail in her coffin.

Another pause of silence laid itself over the table. Ruiko and Kazari watched the other two girls eagerly. Kuroko stared, white-faced, into her soda, as if she had just realized it was actually blood.

Mikoto's mind was working on overdrive. _Is there nothing else we can do? _

But however she thought about it, the fact was they could hardly do anything while being like this. Returning to normal should be their first priority, and even just a small chance of success…

"…Kuroko." Her voice was low and neutral, yet resounded into Kuroko's ears.

The girl who inhabited Mikoto's body suddenly sat up straight in the sofa like a soldier alerted to the presence of his general. "H-hai!"

"When this thing is over..." Mikoto turned to look at her, and even though she smiled, her aura was burning with liquid fire; Kuroko felt a stupid grin force its way onto her face again. "…you are going to die."

"Ghh—!"

"Aah…" Ruiko said nervously; Kazari looked almost as pale as Kuroko. Somehow, seeing Kuroko's face and stature painted in such ice cold rage was even scarier than seeing Mikoto herself.

XXX

They found an empty patch of land on the riverbed, below an iron bridge. The reason for this being that Mikoto refused to do any sort of intimate actions with Kuroko in the proximity of other people, be they complete strangers or not. Standing opposite each other, Mikoto red-faced and Kuroko pale but heart thumping in her chest, the silence of the early evening intruded upon their ears. Kazari and Ruiko were standing off to the side, school bags and shopping bags lying in a heap beside them.

"Why did it have to be this place, of all places…?" Mikoto muttered to herself, gazing at the bridge above them. "This is ridiculous…"

Kuroko let out a relieved breath; at least it seemed like her Onee-sama had calmed down somewhat since they left the café.

Mikoto glared at her underclassman, one accusing finger rising to point fiercely at her: "This charade better end now! I don't want to look at you occupying my body for even one more minute!" Not to mention the stress of having no ability was gnawing at the back of her mind mercilessly, putting her on edge. If this kept up any longer she might just lose it completely.

Kuroko couldn't help the content smirk forming around her mouth despite the situation – or because of it. _To think I would get to kiss Onee-sama one more time because of this ordeal…!_ And this time she would even be awake, and do it of her own free will. Somehow, it was enough to leave her feeling grateful.

"Wipe that creepy smile off my face!" Mikoto bellowed angrily.

Ruiko sweat-dropped. "It's kind of unsettling seeing Misaka-san grin like a pervert and Shirai-san red-faced…"

"It's refreshing in a way." Kazari commented. "I just hope this solution actually works, for Shirai-san's sake…" For some reason, she was smiling.

Mikoto closed her eyes briefly and drew a deep breath. "Okay. I'm ready, I guess." She couldn't fight the rose color in her cheeks though, and stared at Kuroko with a determined glare. "So how do we…?"

"Leave that to me, Onee-sama…" Kuroko stepped forward with an almost voracious expression on her face. Her breathing was rash and ragged, and her heart beating five hundred miles an hour. "I…" _…her precious lips… _"will…" _…that sweet taste… _"make sure…" _…those long, curly pigtails… _

SLOP!

"What the hell are you doing, you moron!" Mikoto barked down at her roommate, who had suddenly collapsed to her hands and knees in front of her feet.

"I can't…" Kuroko muttered, like a soldier giving up in the face of an overwhelming enemy.

"Hah?" Mikoto glared at her, still beet red.

"I can't kiss someone who is not my Onee-sama!" Kuroko wailed, putting her hands on her head in despair. "That hair – that body – aah, this torture!" Facing the reality like this, her battle for staying levelheaded was finally lost. "Onee-sama's body is – no, this is too painful!"

"You idiot!" Mikoto grabbed her collar and shook the other girl like a rag doll. "You're supposed to be the one who wants to do this! Don't back out when it matters the most!"

"To kiss my own lips would be a betrayal of our bondaged feelings!"

"That's not even a word!" Mikoto was growing more and more red-faced. "How are we supposed to find out if this works if we don't even try!"

"Everything… everything would fall apart…" Kuroko muttered.

Mikoto gritted her teeth. _I can't count on her… _Then what? Just give up? Was the only option to admit defeat? _No!_ _If it can make us go back to normal, we have to… I have to… _She stared at Kuroko's face (or rather her own), and suddenly realized that she was actually considering kissing her own lips. _Wait, how does that work? _Maybe if she imagined it to be a Sister… _That's just wrong! _She was disturbed out of her mind, shaking all over, while Kuroko hung lifelessly in her grasp, muttering incomprehensible things.

Mikoto swallowed a lump in her throat. Then she gritted her teeth again, determination bubbling up inside. _There's no other way! I have to do it! Just… close your eyes…_ She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. _It doesn't count at all, it would be just like kissing a mirror… nothing like the real thing… _An image of a face floated at the edge of her mental vision. It took a second for her brain to register it. And when it did, a ray of panic tore through her body. _NO way! Nowaynowaynowaynoway! _And without thinking any further, she smashed her lips against Kuroko's, eyes still tightly shut and every nerve in her body screaming in terror. Kuroko on her side stiffened in shock at the sudden contact.

In short, it was a highly unnatural kiss.

"Whoa, they're really kissing!" Ruiko sounded excited, and Kazari was blushing almost as bad as Mikoto.

Mikoto pulled back and gasped for air. Her entire brain felt like it had just melted, and she was feeling kind of sluggish. It had happened so fast she barely registered it at all. _Wha— what did I just...?_

"Ah…?" Kuroko breathed, once more sitting on the ground now that Mikoto had let go of her. Her eyes were huge, as if she'd just been shocked out of her mind.

Mikoto breathed deeply a couple of times, and then realized something was not right – the kiss had blown her mind out effectively, so she'd almost forgot for a moment, but…

She looked down at the girl sitting by her feet. That short, brown hair, the brown eyes looking dazedly into the air… there was no doubt about it.

Even after doing something like that… nothing had changed at all.

Something exploded in her chest. Wave after wave of searing hot air pushed itself out of her lungs in shaky breaths, and the air around her suddenly crackled.

"Nothing happened…" Kazari said breathlessly. "What else could there be…?"

"Wait a minute…" Ruiko said, staring down at them as well. "Something _is _happening…" she lifted a hand and hesitantly pointed.

"Eh?" Kazari looked over, and immediately paled.

Small blue sparks were jumping from Mikoto's bangs and shoulders, although it currently looked like it was Kuroko who suddenly started emitting electric charges.

What was more, it looked like they were growing in strength.

"Guh –" Kuroko noticed the scene in front of her as well, and immediately clambered backwards, away from the immediate danger zone. "O-Onee-sama, your ability…"

"Why… does it feel like you made all this happen just to have some of your perverted wishes come true…?" Mikoto asked, eyes almost completely lifeless as the output of her electricity grew in force. They were jumping into the air and striking into the ground without any meaning. "It seems like I'll have to correct that twisted mind of yours once and for all…" The electric currents continued to grow in numbers, like a tesla coil slowly charging. What was even more worrisome however, was the dark clouds starting to gather in the sky above them, rumbling with thunder. Ruiko and Kazari backed off slightly, gazing in horror at the unnatural shift in weather.

Kuroko's brain was trying to tell the body to run, but the communication between the two seemed to have been lost. The last time she'd witnessed this power unleashed, an entire park had been leveled with the ground from the massive lightning strike called from the sky. Needless to say, if this wasn't stopped the result would most likely be disastrous.

She swallowed dryly. "O-Onee-sama, I'm sure if we just calm down—"

"I'll calm down when you're lying dead on the ground!" Mikoto roared, and a resounding crack split the sky – at that moment, someone jumped from the bridge above Kuroko and landed beside her; she only saw a mop of spiky black hair before the newcomer leapt forward (seemingly ignoring the dangerous electric charges), and smacked a hand directly into Mikoto's face, knocking her backwards; instantly the electricity was cut off, and Mikoto hit the ground, back first, with a thud.

The other girls blinked, needing a couple of seconds to take in what had just happened.

"Ah! It's the street-wise preacher!" Ruiko was the first to recover, and exclaimed in eager: "He stopped the electricity just like that-?"

"Aaaah…" Kazari was just happy they were still alive.

"Haaah, that was close…" Kuroko sighed, feeling rather relieved to having been saved from certain death. She looked over at the scene ahead, and her eyes widened as the reality of the situation sank in.

The man was sitting on Mikoto's stomach, his hand plastered to her face. Shamelessly, he sat like that, on top of her Onee-sama.

If Kuroko had been back in her own body, her pigtails would probably be fluttering all over the place; however she was not, so instead Mikoto's face was reddening in anger.

The real Mikoto was struck speechless from shock, trapped under the body of a moronic idiot, and her face was already searing hot below his hand.

"Are you okay?" Touma asked, staring at her with a worried expression on his face as he removed his hand.

"Wha-wha-wha-whaaa?" Mikoto cried out, wanting to run away and then again not – however her body was numb all over and she couldn't seem to force through any commands to her muscles at all.

"What's wrong – was I too late? Did you already get biribiri'ed before I showed up?" He put a hand to her shoulder, and Mikoto's heart was bursting through her chest.

"Wh-who are you calling Biribiri, you m-moron!" She stammered; another blue charge left her bangs as if in synchrony to her outburst.

"Wah – you're still Misaka? How –?" He stared at his right hand, as if that could give him the answer; Mikoto wanted to shout at him, but her head was already melted. He was sitting at her stomach and his left hand was clutching her shoulder – _w-why is his hand so warm?_

Suddenly, her own raging face appeared above them. "Get – off – Onee-sama – this _instant_!" Kuroko was grasping at her thigh, as if wanting to grip a spike and strike him with it, no ability or not; however she did not have her leather belts equipped.

"Ah, that's weird!" Touma exclaimed, paying the teleporter no mind. "I thought you would change back when I touched her… damn!" For some reason, he started fumbling around Mikoto's body, though the girl didn't seem to care (she was hardly breathing, and had possibly fainted). "Maybe there's a flash card stuck on you somewhere?" He pulled up her shirt, and then halted, realizing something was staring down his neck with the fury of a thousand raging grizzly bears.

Kuroko's rage was making Mikoto's face look like it belonged to a monster in a science fiction novel. The very air around her was spitting fire, much like the equivalent of what Mikoto had displayed just moments before. "You _dare_ touch Onee-sama like that –" she seethed, and then gave a horrified gasp, "– or is it _my_ body you're after? How dare you betray Onee-sama!" It seemed like whatever his answer was, it would be the wrong one.

He gave a slightly panicked look. "No, I don't—" Before he could even finish talking, she thrust her hand into her pocket and pulled out a shiny coin; Touma gave a terrified expression. "Don't tell me you can fire that thing!" He jumped off of Mikoto and thrust his hand out; with an enraged face, Kuroko pulled her arm back and then – she tossed the coin with inhuman strength, and it smacked directly into Touma's forehead and sent him spinning to the ground in a heap.

"How dare you, baboon!" She yelled.

"Such misfortune." He muttered.

"I didn't know Shirai-san could pitch like that!" Ruiko exclaimed. Kazari stared at the display with awe and just a healthy amount of disbelief.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko cried and knelt beside Mikoto. "Aaah, why do we have to suffer through this? Why, why! Aaaah!" She stretched her hands out, ready to throw herself at her own body (all moral long since abandoned).

Mikoto twitched and opened her eyes; the first thing she saw was her own crying face aiming for her chest. "Wha-what are you doing, you moron!" She raised her arms and fended the other girl off, feeling like she was battling some strange variant of a Sister. "Stop acting like a crazy otaku already!" She successfully shoved Kuroko off and sat up. Then she noticed the lumped form of Touma; her face instantly reddened again. "W-why are you still here!"

"Eeh?" Touma sat up as well, a red mark still visible on his forehead. He rubbed it, giving a puzzled look. "Ah, I wonder… seems like I got distracted with stopping you from murdering your friend. Aaah, I lost my target…"

"Wha – I wasn't going to –" She started spluttering, and reddened even more. "W-why do you suddenly show up and a-a-assault me like that anyway!"

"That kind of lightning strike would kill off anyone within a radius of a hundred meters, not to mention the whole district would be blacked out and my fridge would go haywire again!"

"Who cares about your fridge!" Mikoto barked, her face growing even redder. "Stay out of business that isn't yours!"

"My fridge _is _my business, and besides, I couldn't just stand by while you killed someone!"

"Like I said, I wasn't going to kill anyone!"

Kuroko, on the ground after Mikoto shoved her away, muttered; "Onee-sama seemed to lose her mind there for a moment…"

"You shut up!"

Touma sighed deeply. "I guess this isn't the right time to ask whether you've seen a man in a purple suit…"

"What's with the guy in the purple suit anyway?" Mikoto moved her glare from Kuroko to him again.

"What do you know about the man in the purple suit?" Kuroko suddenly asked, looking sharply at Touma, who rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, you see… eh…"

"So the man in the purple suit really exists, then! Where is he?" Ruiko was excited as she and Kazari came over to them, and looked around as if expecting him to show up with a greeting.

Kazari stopped and sighed. "You know Saten-san, there's no way he'd suddenly show up here—" she was cut off when a sudden flash erupted on the bridge above the plot of land they were at; "What was that?"

As they looked, purple smoke drifted into the air, revealing – and their eyes widened – a man in a purple suit. His hair was long and bright red, swaying in the early evening wind and adorned with an equally purple top hat. He stood on the metal railing above them, looking strangely good in that outfit. Golden buttons on the suit jacket, several diamond rings on his white-gloved fingers, a red silky scarf around his neck and as long as a cape down his back, and a confident smirk on his face…

"Someone called?" His glinting teeth invited the world's dentists to come admire them. Kuroko recognized him at once: It was indeed the jewelry store vandal she had confronted the night before. _What is this…_

"Constantine!" Touma exclaimed, glaring at the man with fiery eyes. "If you won't leave the city peacefully I'll have to force you!"

"Oh my, how frightening."

The girls looked from Touma to the man standing so regally above them, and back again.

"What is going on?" Kuroko asked of no-one in particular.

Mikoto sighed. "Whatever it is it seems like these two are already acquainted."

"Well, if it isn't my favorite little girl," the man's glinting eyes were suddenly looking down at Mikoto. "You gave me quite the surprise last night. I must say it's been a while since I had so much fun. I do hope you've been equally entertained today…" His gaze moved to Kuroko, and his smirk widened. "Or are you perhaps over there right now…?"

"Though there are too many things to be asked here…" Mikoto suddenly pointed accusingly at him: "Are you the one that made all these horrible things happen?"

"Indeed I am!" The man proclaimed, throwing his hands out; red and gold glitters erupted from his fingers like fireworks. "I am Constantine, the Glorious Prince of Sparkles!"

Silence followed this. He still stood with his arms outstretched, as if he was waiting for applause, while red and golden glitters drifted through the air around him. However, the only reaction he got was disturbed expressions; Touma's eyebrows were twitching, Mikoto was gaping, her arm still hanging in the air, and Kazari and Ruiko seemed thunderstruck.

"That is _so_ cliché." Kuroko muttered with a strained face.

"Well, whatever." The man said, and then he pointed at the ground beneath them; "_Candeo pyrobolus_."

The ground exploded upwards in a sudden rumble. Red and yellow sparks were forcing their way through the earth and up into the air, like a rocket hidden underground.

"Uwah!" Mikoto stumbled backwards.

"Onee-sama!"

"Ayeee, Shirai-san, Misaka-san!" Kazari wailed while being dragged off by Ruiko.

Touma gritted his teeth and leaped forward, slamming his fist into the rising earth; with a sharp sound the rumble stopped, and the earth stopped spewing sparkles.

The girls all blinked.

"Stop playing games, Constantine!" Touma yelled, turning towards the man furiously. "Even if you robbed all the jewelry stores in Academy City, you wouldn't find what you're looking for! What good is it to spread all this chaos? Are you trying to make up for something missing in your life?"

"Oh please, what are you thinking of me?" Constantine put one hand dramatically to his forehead in an obviously exaggerated motion. "I realized long ago that it was already moved out of the city. But after coming all the way here, how can I deny a chance for some entertainment? Please allow me to include you in the fun! _Candeo 50!_" His other hand flung out; a shower of golden sparkles rained from it like confetti, and exploded when it hit the ground. Kazari and Ruiko ran off to hide under the bridge; Kuroko jumped out of the way of one sparkle, and Mikoto gritted her teeth and avoided another. Touma ran forward, using his hand as a shield at everything nearby, but it was impossible to punch out countless sparkles covering a large area at once.

"Kuroko!" Mikoto stretched out a hand towards her roommate while trying to stay out of the trajectory of any of the sparkles. Kuroko didn't understand what she wanted at first – but then she saw the electric currents snapping from her auburn pigtails. _That's right—!_

"Onee-sama!" She pulled out a coin from her pocket and tossed it just as another explosion racked the ground between them; golden sparkles shooting into the air. Mikoto reached out for the small metal object, and with the help of a little magnetism, it reached her hand. Then she turned around, just in time to face another sparkle – her eyes widened, and then Touma was there, and like a wall blocking the storm his right hand captured the sparkle and it vanished in a harmless blast.

"Misaka, get him down from there!" He couldn't reach the man while he stood up at the bridge, and he couldn't leave the girls unprotected either.

Mikoto lifted her arm and aimed the coin at the bridge below the man's feet; "What did you think I was gonna do?"

Touma ducked out of the way and smacked his hands over his ears as she fired; her short skirt and long hair fluttering in the forceful blast.

A trail of explosions followed the beam that travelled through countless sparkles at three times the speed of sound; before they could even register that it had been fired, the blast hit the bridge and tore right through it. The sound of thunder followed, a blast of air knocking both Kazari and Ruiko over in the repercussion, and the bridge snapped and creaked dangerously. Constantine's footing swayed, but he elegantly draped his scarf around himself and vanished from his spot just as the entire thing collapsed; he reappeared at another point, on one of the metal beams supporting the bridge along the top. Though one end of the metal beam now pointed down to the ground in a pointless gesture as the bridge it had been connected to a few moments ago had collapsed, it was strong enough to avoid crumbling under his weight.

"My, oh my, that was dangerous." The man flicked an invisible speck of dirt from his sleeve with a bored expression on his face. Then he looked down at Mikoto, his smirk showing off a row of white teeth. "However, you did not fire at me directly; are you afraid of getting your cute little hands dirty?"

"Kh – shut up, you moron!" Mikoto fired a crackling spear of electricity his way, but he simply disappeared from his position again; "Gah – where did he—?"

"_Candeo 30!_" A glittering spray of sparkling colors rained down from above them.

Mikoto jumped aside as the new sparkles hit the ground all over and exploded. "What is he, some kind of multi-ability esper?"

Touma heroically tried to dispel most of the sparkles; and then Constantine's voice sounded through the air:

"I wonder what sort of curse will strike you this time! Or will you merely be stuck in your current situation? Hahaha!"

"Nh—! Misaka, we need to stop him!" Touma called out.

"Wha – what exactly do you want me to do between dodging freaking balls of exploding light and trying to see two feet ahead!" She couldn't see much besides sparkling light and flames of explosions, and her ears were ringing from the noise.

"Just go _biribiri _or something!"

"What's that supposed to mean!"

Then, the purple dressed man spoke again: "_Colloseus Chaos!_"

It felt like the entire world stopped at that moment. A strange sensation spread through Mikoto's body, like all the electricity in her body ran backwards. _What's… _The next moment, the ground beneath her feet _tilted_ –

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko's frightened voice called out from somewhere close by –

Kazari and Ruiko were both blasted by a hot wave of air, and Kazari raised her arm to shield her face. "What was that!"

"CONSTANTINE!" Touma's raging cry sounded through the air.

"Such an interesting ability; I cannot affect you at all." Constantine huffed. "How about we test our strength in a proper gentlemen's match? If you can get past my favorite little chaos spreader this time, that is. Don't disappoint me now! Tut-tut."

"Damn it!" Touma's curse met empty air, as the man in the purple suit disappeared in another puff of smoke. Mikoto was lying face-down on the ground, and Kuroko sat beside her, clutching her arm.

"What the heck was that…?" Mikoto muttered, and then her eyes widened. She turned her head to look at her roommate; her insides were flooded with strange relief. It was Kuroko. In her real body. It was almost as unreal as having realized she was stuck in Kuroko's body this morning.

"We're… back…?" A feeling of unreal strangeness washed over her, she got to her knees. "What just…?" There was a strange sensation floating throughout her body, but she was back in her _own _body. That, at least…

"Onee-sama…" Kuroko could hardly breathe. "We're back…" What had just happened was so incredible she couldn't even start to understand it.

"He got away again! Do you have him?" Touma was talking on his cell phone again, a determined look on his face. "Fine, I'll be right there!" And with the phone still to his ear, he turned and ran off.

"H-hey!" Mikoto got up to her feet, ignored the wobbly feeling in her head, and shouted: "Don't go running off after all this, damn you!"

Touma just kept running however, yelling back: "Please just stay there until everything is over!"

"What the hell is that about!" Mikoto shouted. "Don't just act all cool and expect people to sit and wait for you to come back and explain!" As if her voice could stop him if she just yelled loudly enough, she bellowed after his retreating back: "The least you could do is tell us what the hell is going on, you idiot! Hey!"

"Ah –" Ruiko suddenly trembled all over, and wrapped her arms around her torso like she was cold.

"Saten-san?" Kazari turned her head to look at her friend.

"What is…" Ruiko sounded scared and shaken, as if she'd just seen something horrible.

"What's wrong, Saten-san?" Kazari asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"The air… my body… it feels so… funny…"

Kazari didn't understand at first, but then something happened which made her eyes widen.

"Misaka-san! Shirai-san!" She cried at the Tokiwadai duo.

"What?" Mikoto looked over at them; and her eyes widened too.

Kazari was pale-faced. "S-something is wrong with Saten-san!"

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong>

And suddenly, there's a new chapter.

Constantine, the Glorious Prince of Sparkles, is one glittering chap. I wonder if he really was inspired by Willy Wonka? ...

Mikoto's heavenly lightning strike is actually canon – *le gasp*! It is shown the very first time she faces off against Touma in the Index light novels and anime, and is used again in the Railgun mini-novel **Toaru Jihanki no Fanfare** (_A Certain Vending Machine's Proof of Existence_), in which Mikoto face off against the seventh ranked Level 5. (Read it in English at Baka-Tsuki!)

I wanted to read through the chapter here on FF before posting it, to catch any swallowed words or deleted spaces which this site is so fond of leaving behind. But each time I started doing this, I came about three lines down before getting distracted with something else (like omg, so many previously undiscovered animes to explore!), so after going through random sections and polishing things here and there, I decided to just post this and cross my fingers. Please tell me if something looks wrong or weird, and I'll fix it.

Hope you enjoyed =)

(If you think Kuroko's scene in this chapter was similar to the one in the last chapter, I'll have you know I wrote this one first. Which obviously makes it alright. Now to work on part 5...)

Words and terms:_  
><em>_Candeo (Latin) _= Sparkle_  
>Pyrobolus<em> _(Latin)_ = Bomb

**Next time: **New problems


	7. Part 5: New Problems

**Part 5: New Problems**

Kuroko and Mikoto both stared at the scene in front of them. Neither of them could believe it.

"What?" Ruiko's voice held just a tiny amount of panic. Looking from Mikoto and Kuroko to stare at Kazari, her eyes wide, she said; "Uiharu, what… is something…?"

"S-Saten-san…"

It was as if cosmic gamma rays of another dimension had erupted right at this very plot of land and ditched all the laws of nature to form its own reality – if that had been the case, they would have been able to explain it.

But just like this morning, they couldn't explain it. There was no way this could happen.

Blue sparks of electricity were erupting into the air in front of their eyes. However the blue sparks weren't originating from Mikoto – but from Ruiko.

It was impossible.

"How is – how is…" Kuroko muttered breathlessly.

"Eh?" Ruiko looked down at her hand, and saw the tiny blue charges leaping across her skin. A tremor travelled up her spine as she suddenly realized what the strange noise she could hear was. It was the bzzt's of electricity leaving her body. "E-EEEEEH?"

Did Saten-san just develop an ability which happened to involve electricity? Mikoto felt her hands tremble. _No way… that's just…_

"What is – what is this?" Ruiko asked, looking at her hand as if it was an alien being. The air around her felt awkward, and more and more strange sensations pressed onto her mind. Her skin crawled, and there was an unpleasant prickly feeling behind her ears. "Ahaha… that's real funny… Misaka-san, are you...?" She looked up at the other girl, and realized there were waves – _waves_, in the air. Like light, only dimmed down, floating in front of her eyes. And they were everywhere.

"Wha – what –" she stammered, her face paling rapidly and her breath accelerating. "What the – what the heck is going on!" In a sudden stroke of panic, electricity suddenly erupted from her in a storm of lightning – Kazari cried out and stumbled backwards, tripping over her own legs and just barely avoiding a strike that hit the ground before her.

"Uiharu!" Kuroko prepared to teleport over and get her out of harm's way – but that wasn't what happened. Kazari cried out; a horrible sensation settled in her gut all of a sudden, as if she'd just dropped down a ninety degree fall in a rollercoaster. That may very well be true, since instead of Kuroko appearing beside her, Kazari was suddenly sent two meters up in the air, only to crash back down.

Kuroko could hardly breathe from shock."What…? Even though we're back to normal… but why…?"

"What's happening?" Ruiko shouted; it felt like her mind was twirling like a spinning top, and lightning struck into the air all around her, though she had no idea why. "What's going on?" She grabbed her head with both hands as if to squeeze everything inside back in place.

Kazari, who was now sitting on the ground, raised her arms to shield her face when the lightning strikes started hitting the grass in front of her. The effect was much like a hair dresser cutting the edges of your hair with their scissors. "Uwaah, Saten-san, don't fry us!"

"I have no idea what's going on!" Ruiko shouted back, panicking. "How do I stop it?"

_This couldn't be…? _Having seen the result of Kuroko trying to use her ability, Mikoto had a strange idea. It was just too much to believe, but… She gritted her teeth. _It's our only call!_ "Saten-san, you need to restrain it!"

"Wah – h-how?" She cried, and jumped as a lightning strike struck the ground right beside her.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko cried, turning towards her roommate in despair.

Mikoto swallowed slowly. _If it's really like that… then perhaps… _Throwing all sense of logic away, she closed her eyes and imagined herself restraining her ability. In a sense, she tried to… mentally reach out or something (that was what it felt like).

"Ah—?" All of a sudden, Ruiko felt like something cold filled the inside of her head – it was a sensation unlike any other she had ever felt, as if someone had just spilled a can of ice cubes in there. The electricity abruptly cut off, the last few sparks disappearing in the air. While the strength in her legs seemed to give out and she sank down to her knees, she somehow felt calmer at the same time, as if the alien feeling in her head was soothing her nerves.

She sat on the ground, heaving for breath.

"Saten-san, are you all right?" Kazari asked hesitantly; Kuroko came running over, nearly tripping over her own legs in the process.

"What in the world happened?" She asked.

Ruiko couldn't talk; she was still too shocked to move a muscle.

Kuroko turned towards Mikoto, who came up beside her. "Onee-sama, did you lose control over your ability?"

Mikoto huffed and put her hands on her waist. "Who do you think I am? In the first place, there's no way I could do anything like that." She gazed soberly down at the long-haired girl that was staring at her hands as if she'd seen a ghost. "Rather…"

"It's… it's like… my brain is bursting…" Ruiko gasped, raising one hand to cradle her head. "There's so much… so many weird… _things_."

Kuroko and Kazari looked like they feared she was having a tumor, but Mikoto gave a deep sigh. "Jeez, one problem solved and then a new one pops up right after. What is this, April Fool's Day?"

"Eh?" Kuroko gave her a quizzical look. It seemed like she understood more than Kuroko of what was going on.

Mikoto looked at Ruiko with a sober expression on her face. "That feeling probably comes from the input received from the electromagnetic waves emitting from your body, Saten-san. I guess it can be unsettling when you're not used to it."

"EEH?" Both Kuroko and Kazari blanched.

"Electromagnetic…?" Ruiko looked at the older girl; there was a chaotic swirl of shiny waves emitting from her.

Mikoto smiled. "Don't worry; it's not dangerous."

"Onee-sama, what you are suggesting…" Kuroko stared at her roommate with a dreadful expression on her face.

Mikoto put a hand on her chin thoughtfully. "I can't really explain it, but it seems like my ability was somehow transferred to Saten-san."

"EH? You mean, S-S-Saten-san is an esper?" Kazari's eyes were huge.

Kuroko was gaping in shock. "…yes… of course, that makes sense…"

"Not really." Mikoto said. "But this day is already so weird it doesn't really surprise me, you know? At least there seems to have been left a small connection, so I was able to help restrain it."

"Well, there's one good thing… but still…" Kuroko looked down at Ruiko, feeling incredulous. "How is something like this possible…?"

Mikoto huffed. "First trading bodies, now abilities? I don't even know what to think anymore."

"You can have it back!" Ruiko cried, clamping her hands onto her head again. "Please take it back! I don't want Misaka-san's ability!"

"Saten-san, it's all right!" Kazari crawled over to her friend and enveloped her in a tight hug.

Mikoto looked over at Kuroko. "For that matter, don't you think the same happened with you and Uiharu-san?"

Kuroko looked up at her again. "Eh? With Uiharu…?" She gazed over at her Judgment partner, who immediately got a slightly panicked look on her face.

"Eh? Me?"

"Aaah…" Ruiko drew a deep breath, trying to sort out the thoughts in her head in-between a myriad of impressions she didn't know how to read. "Anyway… I guess that means… Misaka-san, you can't…?"

"Ah, yeah, it seems like I'm unable to use my power again…" Mikoto looked down at her hand, and concentrated as if trying to make a spark. At once a strange feeling ran through Ruiko's body, and a blue crackle erupted from her bangs.

"Aah!" The longhaired girl clenched her eyes shut in alarm.

"Ahaha, sorry, sorry." Mikoto laughed. "I guess I can still influence it after all." It was weird, but she felt strangely at ease with it being like this. The feeling of emptiness was somehow subdued; while she couldn't sense her surroundings, just the fact that there was still a sort of connection made it much easier compared to earlier this day.

"Then, what – what do we do?" Kazari asked intently, feeling pent-up as well. "Saten-san – Saten-san isn't used to even have an ability, and now she's suddenly got Misaka-san's…?" She stared at her friend worriedly.

"Hmm, I wonder if we could reverse it somehow?" Mikoto said thoughtfully, observing Ruiko's tired face.

Kuroko felt a stab of concern in her chest. "Onee-sama, please don't tell me you're considering trying to shock us back to normal again…"

"Of course not. I wouldn't want to hurt Uiharu-san and Saten-san."

"…Somehow I feel both relieved and insulted at once…"

Ruiko was still having a hard time thinking straight, and gasped: "Ah, Misaka-san… please help me turn off this electromagnetic radar thing…" The prickling on her skin was really starting to get on her nerves, and her head was bursting with information she didn't know how to interpret. It was as if a hundred foreigners were speaking to her in different languages at once.

"Ah, that's not possible." Mikoto said, instantly destroying her every hope. "My ability makes me emit electromagnetic waves non-stop, so there's nothing I can do about that. Oh, by the way; you shouldn't try to pet any cats. They'll be scared off or scratch you."

Kuroko's expression fell. "That is her biggest worry…"

"Uggh… then do I have to keep seeing these… waves of light…?"

"Waves of light?" Kazari asked, puzzled. She was still on her knees on the ground, looking at Ruiko.

"Hai… they are everywhere, like floating through the air, some long and slow, other small and quick… and there are a whole lot of them around you guys."

"R-really…?" Kazari looked downwards, as if expecting to see them herself.

"Oh, you mean our magnetic fields." Mikoto realized. "You can see wavelengths thanks to electromagnetic perception. That's an active ability, so it should be possible to stop it."

"I don't get all of that, but please…" Ruiko hung her head and gave a deep sigh. It felt like her brain was about to crack from alien sensations, and there was a prickly sensation on the inside of her scalp.

Mikoto closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to remember how she controlled that particular ability. _I never even think about it anymore…_to her it was a natural instinct when to use it. It was like a second sight, somehow.

Kuroko pursed her lips. "Still, Onee-sama, you seem awfully calm about this ordeal…" She would have imagined the older girl to make a huge deal of it like this morning.

Mikoto opened her eyes again; Ruiko gave a deep sigh as the waves disappeared from her sight. "Well, there's no use panicking, is there?" Mikoto said. "I still have a connection to my ability, so it's better than having none. Also, I'm not forced to be _you _anymore." She added dryly.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko gasped. "Was it so horrible to don my timid being for only a few hours –!"

"It was notonly a _few hours,_ and it was _awful_."

Kuroko's expression was crestfallen.

"U-um, Misaka-san!" Kazari said, holding onto Ruiko's shoulders to support her. "How do you think this happened?"

Mikoto gazed at the longhaired girl that was leaning heavily into her flowery friend. "How, neh…" She sighed and put her hands on her waist. "Well, I know that idiot couldn't have done it, so..." She looked off in the direction Touma had run off; of course, there was no sign of neither him nor that man in the purple suit.

Kuroko frowned. "The man in the purple suit…"

"Eeeh, you think that man did this?" Kazari asked.

"It has got to be…" Ruiko forced out. "There's no… other explanation, is there?"

Kuroko put one hand on her chin as she thought. "Even though I find it hard to believe a single human being could cause something like this, there is no doubt it has happened. What an impossible scenario…"

"As if switching bodies wasn't?" Mikoto commented.

"Even Academy City itself has not yet found a way of transferring abilities – if that was the case, they'd have started using it already." Kuroko continued. "There are espers out there who is not fit for their ability, and many Level 0's that would gladly take them."

"I think I'd start with – something a bit easier…" Ruiko breathed, hanging onto Kazari for support. After only a few minutes of possessing the ability of a Level 5, she was already feeling drained.

"In any case, while we are back to normal, our abilities are now in a strange condition. It may be hard for us to confront him like this." Kuroko reasoned. "However if this has happened to more of the students in the city, we need to stop this before everyone wakes up tomorrow morning and chaos unfolds."

"That boy was chasing him, right?" Kazari looked just a little bit worried. "Will he be okay, facing that man all alone?"

Mikoto frowned, feeling her insides coil up. _He's rushing headlong into trouble again, that idiot…_

"So, to reverse this we have to look for that man in the purple suit?" Ruiko asked, breathing a bit easier now. She was doing her best to ignore the constant itching and strange sensations. "What do we do, then? Try to track him down?"

"Aaah, I'm certain another kiss is the only thing needed to –" Kuroko's romantic utterance met an abrupt end when Mikoto's fist hit her upside her head, and she tumbled to the ground.

"Aah, that felt good." Mikoto beamed, already feeling her stress levels decrease. "My nose is still hurting from earlier too, so consider it as payback."

"Onee-sama, it was you who drove my elbow into your own face…" Kuroko muttered, crouching on the ground with her hands clamped onto her head.

"What was that? I can't hear you, muttering doormat."

"Nothing…"

Kazari smiled uncertainly. "Eeeh, so, should we go back to 177th branch?"

"Indeed, that may be the wisest choice." Kuroko said, rubbing her sore head. "We can work more efficiently from there. Once we have more information on that man's position, we can go on a chase."

"Aah, we'll be breaking curfew, won't we…" Ruiko reached into her pocket to pull out her phone and check the time.

"It can't be helped." Kazari said intently. "We have to figure out how to stop this or Saten-san will collapse!"

"Indeed." Kuroko sighed. "There's no way we can let you wander about with Onee-sama's ability for long – there may be accidents, especially if –"

"AAAH!" Ruiko's shout interrupted her. The longhaired girl was staring in despair at her cell phone, which was totally blank. "M-my phone…"

"Huh?" Kazari said, looking at the device as well. "Did it short-circuit?"

"That appears to be the situation." Kuroko said dryly, seeing the lack of a response from the phone when Ruiko desperately tried to push a few buttons.

"But why? Misaka-san's phone never dies, does it?" Ruiko looked up at Mikoto with grief written over her entire face.

"Aah, well, that's because you have to control it, I guess..." Mikoto smiled awkwardly.

"We can worry about that later." Kuroko said mercilessly, while Ruiko's face fell. "Right now time is of the essence. If we can find that man before he causes more trouble, all will be for the better."

"Hm, you're right. Let's go to 177th Branch then." Mikoto started walking, and Kuroko followed.

"Man, having an ability like this sucks…" Ruiko sighed, as she and Kazari got to their feet.

Kazari smiled brightly at her. "I'm sure it's just a matter of getting used to it! In the meantime, just think of it as a power-boost!"

"I'm not sure that helps…"

A gust of wind blew from the river below them and flapped their skirts about.

"Ah, it's getting chilly…" Kuroko said, "Let us hurry back to the office, lest we catch cold… Onee-sama?" She noticed her roommate's still form in front of her.

"Kuroko…" Mikoto's voice was low and neutral, and at once, the younger girl's face stiffened. "I don't remember giving you permission –" a sudden crack of electricity escaped Ruiko's fringe; Kazari pulled away with a surprised whine, "–to _change my clothes_!" Mikoto turned around and yelled, and lightning struck from Ruiko wildly.

"Aaah, Misaka-san, calm down, calm down, please!"

XXX

"Honestly!" Mikoto huffed as they entered Judgment 177th office. It was already late in the evening, and no-one else was present. Mikoto went right over to the sofa near the wall and deposited herself into it, crossing her arms and legs. "Kuroko, you moron…"

The other three girls followed; Ruiko and Kazari warily, yet relieved that she had calmed down at last, ending the electric storm that Ruiko had no idea how to control. Lastly came Kuroko, sighing;

"Onee-sama, please act with a bit more self-restraint…"

"Shut up." Mikoto bit back. "You have some nerve, forcing me into wearing your perverted underwear…"

"It is merely an erotic, yet delicate way of expressing your womanhood –!"

"I'm not interested! No teenage girl should be wearing something unnatural like it's natural!"

"Eheh…" Kazari made a nervous laugh.

Ruiko plumped down into a chair with a deep sigh. "Man, I'm beat! Who knew having an ability was this exhausting!"

"It's not that being an esper is so exhausting," Kazari said, smiling cheerfully, "it's that trying to control the powers of a Level 5 while actually being Level 0 is just too much for you to handle."

"Jeez, that makes me feel important…" Ruiko sighed.

"Well, since we have some time right now, I think we should try to calm down a bit with a cup of tea." Kazari twittered and went over to their small kitchen corner.

"I don't like the thought of that man wandering around causing trouble while I sit in here waiting for tea…" Mikoto huffed, while Kuroko sat down at her desk and turned on her laptop.

"Onee-sama, even if you went out there you would just be running around blindly in your current state. We should at least know where to start looking."

"I know that, jeez. But I still don't like it."

Ruiko looked at the two of them, and then down at her hand. "If I didn't have Misaka-san's ability…" It was a strange thought. It felt like she was somehow restricting the other's freedom.

"Don't worry about that." Mikoto smiled at her. "More importantly, are you alright?"

"Ah, well… there's a strange feeling in my body, like a constant itch… I feel like if I had to live with this every single day, I'd…" Ruiko shuddered, and then wrapped her arms around herself, "I'd go mad!"

"Eeh, really?" Mikoto said. "I never noticed."

"Not that I doubt your senses, but how can you _not_ notice?"

"As it is Onee-sama's ability, you might react differently to it than she does." Kuroko said all-knowingly, browsing her laptop. "After all, to Onee-sama it's natural."

"Just like how being a pervert is completely natural for Kuroko, yet was impossible to me." Mikoto added helpfully, making Kuroko twitch.

"So you're always feeling itchy…?" Ruiko said, gazing at her hand again with a dreadful expression on her face. "What a horrible fate…"

"Err, no, that's not what…"

"In that case, how about we get a back scratcher for Misaka-san's birthday?" Kazari suggested cheerfully while rummaging for cups in their cupboard. The water boiler was already working on heating the water for their tea.

"Oh, great idea!" Ruiko exclaimed. "And also one of those things you use to massage your head – there's this super annoying, prickly feeling on the inside of my scalp!" She gripped her head tightly and groaned. "Aaah, it's so annoying, I feel like I want to put a tooth stick in my ear or something!"

Mikoto sweat-dropped, while Kazari hummed away as she put the teacups in a stack on the bench and then chose a tea from their extensive stock.

"Aaah, so…" Mikoto looked over at Kuroko. "Kuroko, you still don't have your ability back, right?"

Kuroko gazed into the air thoughtfully, and then picked up a pencil that lay beside her laptop. "There's an odd feeling, like a tingling sensation in my body…"

Ruiko gave a wry grin. "Are you sure that's not just because you're hor—"

"Ah, now that you mention it, me too –!" Kazari interrupted rudely, pulling her head out of the cupboard to look at her co-worker with a disturbed expression on her face. "Shirai-san, you don't think what happened back there really was—?"

"Hmm. At this moment, nothing can be said for sure." Kuroko said, glaring at the pencil as if it was a criminal to be questioned. She felt like she wanted to try and teleport it, but if something like_ that_ happened again...

"Could that strange feeling be a sign that you're currently sporting abilities that is not yours?" Mikoto suggested.

"Well, that is a possibility… it would certainly explain why Onee-sama is the only one not bothered…"

"Ah –" Ruiko started, "because I'm a Level 0…" Her stomach clenched suddenly.

"Saying I'm not bothered is stretching it a bit far." Mikoto huffed. "At this rate I can't hunt down that guy and finish him for good! Still, I guess it's better than a constant itch…"

"Heeh, that's true; if Misaka-san wasn't able to concentrate properly, we might have you spitting electricity all over the place, Saten-san!" Kazari added cheerfully, coming over with teacups for them all.

"Don't say it like you'd do any better!" Ruiko protested. "It's just this weird, ticklish feeling all over – it would make anyone jumpy!" As if to elaborate, she ran her hands over her head in an exaggerated scratching motion.

"Aaah well…" Mikoto didn't know what to say; apparently their experiences regarding this were quite different. "…as long as you're okay, I guess it's good."

"Ooh, that's right!" Kazari sounded like she'd just remembered something exciting, turning around after putting down the tea cups. "Saten-san, can you tell where my cell phone is?"

"Eh?" Ruiko looked up at her. Making a weird face, she said: "Err, I dunno if it's your cell phone, but it feels like something is emitting this really weird, prickling feeling from your right pocket…" It was unknown to her how the sensation behind her left ear could tell her such, but that was the impression she got.

"Ah, you're right!" Kazari exclaimed.

"Really?"

"Wow, that's really impressive!"

"Haaah, I guess I'm not half bad after all…" Ruiko laughed awkwardly, scratching her cheek. "But this is Misaka-san's ability, so…" It felt like she was taking credit for someone else's work. But looking over at Misaka-san, it didn't look like she minded.

"Oh don't be so shy now." Kazari smiled. The water boiler pinged, and she went over to pick it up.

"Hrrm," Kuroko suddenly said, "this makes no sense..." She was frowning into the computer screen.

"Hm, did you find anything?" Mikoto asked, looking over at her.

"Did you find the man in the purple suit?" Ruiko asked, turning towards the pigtailed Judgment member as well. She was perfectly ready to find that man and go back to normal as soon as possible.

Mikoto sighed, folding her arms. "Honestly, I don't get what's up with that guy, but if he's really causing all this…" She gritted her teeth, "…I'll punch him good!"

"Is Anti-Skill still chasing him, Shirai-san?" Kazari asked, looking over at the other girl as she came back with the hot tea water.

Kuroko was frowning deeply. "According to Anti-Skill's report, they arrested him last night."

"EH?" Kazari poured a dash of boiling water to the floor in surprise, and Ruiko hastily pulled her legs out of the way.

Mikoto frowned. "If they arrested him, why was he attacking us at the bridge?"

"Like I said, this makes no sense." Kuroko sighed. "He definitely disappeared without a trace when I fought him. Yet it says here Anti-Skill arrived on the scene to find him subdued, and arrested him."

"That's impossible!" Kazari said. "I told them he'd gotten away…"

"It must be a Clone Bug!" Ruiko excitedly exclaimed.

"Isn't it more likely to be an error in their report?" Mikoto said. "There's no saying one of the officers didn't write that report firmly believing it was the truth. I mean, he did make us change bodies. Though _how_ is…" She looked like it was a strain to try and make sense out of it.

"Hmm…" Kuroko grumbled deeply, one hand on her chin. "It certainly is impossible to guess when dealing with someone who can make these ridiculous things happen…"

"Then, what do we do now?" Ruiko asked, while Mikoto gave a thankful smile to Kazari when the flowery girl poured tea into her cup. "Do you think Anti-Skill knows anything else?"

"With how their report looks, no. Even if they did however, it's past curfew time, and they would just send us off to bed were we to ask."

"Even with such an important case-?"

"In any case, there's no use wasting time on contacting them if they already believe the case to be finished." Kuroko dismissed the entire idea.

"That means we have no choice but to try and track him, I guess." Mikoto sighed and looked over at Kazari, who just finished pouring tea into Ruiko's cup. "If he's using his abilities, the satellite readings would give him away just like last night, right?"

"Aah…" Kazari looked up, seeming troubled. "That may be, but…"

Kuroko sighed. "Gaining entrance to the satellite databases at this time…"

"Oh. It's not that easy, is it?" Mikoto had somehow thought it was just a matter of a few strokes on the keyboard for the Judgment members, but even Judgment must have their restrictions to reduce the risk for security breaches.

Ruiko looked up at them. "Ah, I don't really get it, but… if it's something like needing the correct passwords, couldn't we just hack inside?"

"Don't say that like it's a valid solution," Kazari said in a lecturing tone. "Besides, it's not 'just' hacking. The security around Academy City's satellite data's is very strong, and if we're caught…"

"Ah! But with this –" Ruiko looked at her hand, and suddenly stood up from the chair, feeling fired up. "Misaka-san's ability can take care of that for us, right? You can hack into anything, right?" She directed her question at Mikoto, who felt slightly troubled at this sudden interest.

"Um, well, it's not like I ever tried… hahaa…" she glanced away very naturally.

"You know that's not going to fool anyone, Onee-sama." Kuroko commented dryly. "You are the sole reason Anti-Skill's computer department sit up at night wracking their brains."

"I'm not the _sole _reason…"

"Well then, let's try it!" Ruiko jumped in front of Kazari and put a hand onto Kuroko's laptop – and unleashed a crackling lightning strike that struck into the ceiling and shattered two of their lamps; the laptop gave a loud _snap _and short-circuited.

"Gah!" Kazari threw herself out of the way, and Mikoto gaped.

The electricity died off on its own this time; Ruiko stared at the destroyed computer with a slightly disturbed expression on her face. "Aaah… that wasn't supposed to…"

"Saten-san!" Kazari wailed, ignoring Kuroko's aghast expression. "You can't just – don't just do that! You could have killed us!"

Ruiko pulled back and rubbed the back of her head with a stupid grin on her face. "Ahaha, sorry about that – I just thought… then, how the heck do you do it?" She turned to look at Mikoto, who smiled back uncertainly.

"Asking that afterwards is…"

"It's about micromanagement!" Kazari lectured, red-faced. "M-i-c-r-o-management! That was like MegaUltraBlast – don't you pay attention to _anything _in class?"

"Ah, but I'm a Level 0, so…" Ruiko vaguely tried to excuse herself, but Kazari was still glaring at her with an angry expression.

"Being high level means more than just a lot of power! If Misaka-san did nothing but fire her railgun all over the place she'd be nothing more than a bully! B-U-L-L-Y!"

"You don't have to spell out those easy words…"

"It's because she's a responsible citizen that we still have a city to live in!" Kazari continued.

Mikoto discreetly took a sip of her tea at that point, but Kuroko suddenly twitched out of her shocked state, and turned a surprised gaze at her companion.

"Onee-sama, a responsible citizen?" She imagined scorched back alleys, unconscious delinquents, traffic light problems and countless reports of short-circuited vending machines and electrical apparatuses. Her mouth twitched, and then she gave a really creepy 'heh-heh-heh' laugh that made them all sweat-drop.

XXX

They tried again. Leaving Kuroko's charred laptop behind (Mikoto wasn't exactly sad that the disturbing collection she'd discovered earlier was now beyond recovery), they moved over to Kazari's stationary server. Since it seemed to be their best shot at finding the purple-clad man, gaining access to the satellite data's was still the first thing they'd want to do. Giving up on the idea of having Ruiko hack into the databases for them however – especially since Mikoto was unable to give a comprehensive explanation of how to do it; "You need to analyze the proxies and the data passing through the firewall – well before that you'd need to know how the electricity runs along the components, I guess… aah… in any case, there's a lot of anti-esper defenses as well, so you'd need to do some manual work…"

– they decided to put their faith into Kazari's computer skills instead. Kazari sat down to work on the task, while Kuroko observed from behind her shoulder. Since it was going to take some time to bypass all the security (and Kazari was not even sure it was possible), Mikoto and Ruiko started to dig into 177th branch's supply of snacks while waiting.

Ruiko picked up a chocolate bar ('SUPER-ULTRA HONEY-CUCUMBER TASTE! ONE BITE AND YOU'RE DESTINED TO GREATNESS!') with a thoughtful expression on her face. She had been just as shocked as the others when she suddenly unleashed that lightning strike. Somehow, it just came to her naturally, as if just thinking about trying to hack the computer had brought it forth – though she hadn't exactly imagined something like that would happen. Now that she had consciously used the ability however, it felt like she could recognize the feeling in her head, and she would probably be able to reproduce it. It was strange, yet comforting, somehow.

_Is this what it's like to be a proper ability user? _She sighed into the chocolate.

Mikoto looked over at her. "Saten-san, is everything all right?"

"Hah?" Ruiko looked up. "Ah, there's nothing really… just… this whole situation is kind of… it feels weird to suddenly wield someone else's ability…" – and not just anyone's either. _It would be entirely different if it was Uiharu's… _

Mikoto smiled. "No worries. I'm sure Uiharu-san will get us through to the data we need in no time. Once we find that guy we'll make him undo whatever he's done to us."

"Heeh. Well, yeah…" Ruiko smiled back. Since Mikoto seemed so at ease with the situation, it was hard to be feeling down. _We'll just have to make the best out of it, I guess… _She bit into her chocolate again.

Meanwhile, Kuroko followed Kazari's proceedings on the computer screens with a serious expression on her face.

"Shirai-san, don't you think it'd be easier to contact Anti-Skill after all…?" Kazari hesitantly popped the question, feeling the attention above her shoulder as a stressful factor when trying to do something that was in common sense, impossible. While her job as the Gate Keeper for most of Academy City's databases were significant, not even she had direct entrance to all kinds of information – let alone after curfew. All the passwords and security settings were switched to night mode at this time, limiting the entrance even more than usual. Giving any one person unlimited entrance to all databases was too much of a security risk; for example, if an esper managed to collect the passwords from that person's mind…

"Hrrm…" Kuroko made a thoughtful sound that sounded more like a groan. "I doubt Anti-Skill will be of much help at this time, and we need to find this guy as fast as possible…"

_Yet another reason to just call,_ Kazari thought. "Even if we do find him though, what should we do?" She asked, while starting yet another program that would anonymously scan for security holes in Anti-Skill's firewalls. Even with custom-designed programs however, it would take a while. While she knew the firewall systems like the back of her hand, she couldn't just deactivate them; that would be like walking right into the police station fully armed and announce your plan to rob the bank. To leave no trails meant biding your time.

"We'd have to confront him, obviously."

"Eeh?" Kazari looked up at her partner. "With how we are now, is that such a good idea? You two can't even fight like this, can you?"

Kuroko frowned and looked over at her Onee-sama, who was talking cheerfully with Saten-san. "Indeed, though it seems like Onee-sama has a certain level of influence over her ability still, it might not be enough to properly wield it. In any case, it is Saten-san who'd need to do the hard work." As long as Mikoto stayed calm, at least they didn't need to worry about being electrified all of the sudden – probably…_ And even so, relying on her to stay calm is…_ She felt sweaty. _Nevertheless, it is our only choice..._

Kazari continued to think out loud while watching the progress on her screen: "If there's a fight, we'd have no means of escape with you unable to teleport, do we… it would be bad if someone was hurt."

Kuroko looked back at her. "That is why I was hoping you would be able to act in my place."

"Eeeh?" Kazari's eyes grew huge. Then she looked down at her hand, holding onto the computer mouse. "You really think I have your…?"

"Well, with this situation being as it is, that is the only conclusion to draw." Kuroko said. "We just need to test it out –" KRAZSSSH – the smashing noise erupted from in front of her and startled everyone in the room; Kazari sat still, staring at the monitor in front of her eyes feeling quite scared and stupid and amazed at once. Her right hand twitched emptily; the computer mouse was currently protruding from the shattered monitor. She had done nothing more than imagining the mouse disappear; she never even considered where'd it end up reappearing. She hadn't really thought anything would happen at all.

"Eh…" She slowly looked up at Kuroko, who was staring in solid shock at the result of her experiment. "I guess I really do have it… eheh…" Kazari laughed stupidly.

"Woah, Uiharu, did you do that?" Ruiko asked, coming over.

"Haha, yes…"

"Eeh, I guess you need some practice too, eh?" She leaned forward and studied the damage closely. "Still, it's right in the middle – quite impressive!"

Kuroko stared at the blank screen, and felt her brain twitch. "Uiharu…" she said, and despite their numerous predicaments, she still sounded calm.

"Yes?" Kazari said, feeling slightly nervous.

"…let's call Anti-Skill."

"…yes."

XXX

The four girls were all on their way down the dark streets of District 18.

"I can't believe Anti-Skill allowed us to get access that easily!" Ruiko said, running just behind Kuroko, who was briskly keeping up with Mikoto at the front. "Wasn't it supposed to be super-top-secret data?"

"It was more like they – asked us to do the – job for them!" Kazari gasped; she was still keeping up, barely, but was heaving for breath after running for five whole minutes since they entered District 18. At this time of night few buses were about, and none that fit their time slot. Luckily 177th Branch wasn't based that far from the border of District 18.

"The data in their report was wrong after all," Mikoto said thoughtfully. "Still, for the entire Anti-Skill to suddenly fall asleep like that – you think that's his doing too?" There was no reason to ask who 'he' was of course.

"Whatever the reason, Anti-Skill won't be able to back us up just yet." Kuroko said. "The officer woke up from the phone calling right by her ear. She'd have to wake up everyone else and update them before they can do anything at all."

"Damn, nothing makes sense anymore. I guess this just helps to prove it…" Mikoto trailed off, looking upwards. The others did the same, seeing the strange sight that had greeted them once they entered District 18. The sky was entirely yellow. It was rather intriguing that once you looked right or left, it was bluish-black just like normal; it seemed like it was yellow only when one looked directly upwards.

"The satellites picked up a strange force field in District 18 seven minutes ago. Coupled with the fact that the man was spotted on a surveillance camera in the area, there is no doubt we're on the right track." Kuroko moved her gaze from the strange sky to look at the buildings they passed by. District 18 was much like District 7 in terms of layout, with several schools and dormitories within its confines. This particular area however was mostly accommodating stores and office buildings of various kinds, and they were all closed at this time of night. Naturally, the lack of any student homes in the proximity meant there was little chance to run into any civilians. Hopefully most of them were already sleeping at home at this time.

"According to - the coordinates," Kazari said; gasping it out more like, "it should be – close to the storage houses in area B!"

"Really? In that case, going through here is quicker!" Mikoto diverged off the main street into an alleyway, and Kuroko uttered an undignified "Onee-sama!" before following inside.

"Onee-sama, are you sure this is the right way?" Kuroko asked, looking pointedly at the back head of her upperclassman. The alleyway was dark and rather narrow, but that didn't slow them at all. While she knew the entirety of District 7 in and out due to her work in Judgment, other districts weren't that familiar.

"A lot of gangs usually face off there when fighting over some thing or the other." Mikoto said, not really answering her question, and yet still did, in a way.

"I'm not sure I want to ask how you know that." Kuroko said dryly.

They followed the alleyway for another few minutes, Mikoto and Kuroko at the front, Ruiko right behind them, and Kazari lagging further and further behind, legs feeling like jelly. Then Mikoto suddenly stopped. Kuroko collided into her and nearly knocked them both over, and Ruiko and Kazari stopped too, gasping for air. Kazari had to lean on the wall beside her to not fall right over. It felt like she had just taken the Judgment tests all over again.

"Huh, that's strange, I don't remember there being a fence." Mikoto looked up at the obstacle barring their path. It was a fairly normal chain fence, complete with a gate and a padlock.

"This looks like something a store owner might have put up." Kuroko said, stepping closer to take a look.

"Man, that's a bother. We could climb it, but there's barbed wire…" Mikoto looked up and sighed.

"No need to worry, Onee-sama…" Kuroko sported a confident look all of the sudden, and touched the padlock. The next instant, Kazari gave a surprised whine, as she found herself half a meter above the ground before falling down with a thump. Both Mikoto and Ruiko looked at her and sweat-dropped, but it didn't seem like she was badly hurt.

"Huh?" Kuroko looked at the padlock with a scrutinizing look. Then it dawned on her. "Oh, that's right; Uiharu, you would have to do this." She looked over at the other Judgment member, who was lying on the ground feeling rather beaten down. "What are you lying down for? Don't tell me you're exhausted already?"

XXX

"Jeez, Shirai-san, please be a bit more careful." Kazari huffed, finally on her feet again, and facing the chain fence.

"I am sorry about that." Kuroko offered her apologies politely without sounding sincere at all, before cutting to the chase. "In any case, please teleport this lock away."

"You make it sound so easy…" Kazari huffed again, before eying the lock hesitantly. It looked like a rather sturdy lock, and it glared back at her as if saying _'_yeah, right; just you try'___._ She gulped.

"If I can, I will assist you." Kuroko said assuredly. It seemed like she had some sort of influence over her ability just like her Onee-sama, but it also seemed like that influence was very variable and unstable.

"Just be careful you don't split her with the fence or something…" Mikoto said, thinking the same thing, and feeling like it would be rather risky to have Kuroko experimenting with her ability through Uiharu.

"Mou, Onee-sama, there has been quite some time since I last split anything during practice." Kuroko said with a proud sigh.

"W-what is this 'split' you're talking about?" Kazari asked nervously, apprehensive of touching anything all of the sudden.

Kuroko smiled easily. "Nothing to worry about, Uiharu. Please, concentrate on the task at hand." She pushed Kazari closer to the fence with a friendly hand on the shoulder.

Kazari looked back at the glaring padlock and gulped slowly. Then she bit her teeth together. _It's not dangerous._ Trying to convince herself, she gingerly reached her hand out and touched the lock as if it was a bomb that would explode upon pressure.

"Now, remember what you did when you had the computer mouse move? Try imaging the same thing with the lock, only make sure to put it somewhere away from us." Kuroko explained.

"Err, are you sure this is safe?" Ruiko asked, eyeing both Kazari and the padlock warily. She didn't feel like having that thing appear inside her brain or something.

"It is either this or finding another route." Kuroko sighed. "We have already wasted too much time."

"Well, we could always unlock it with a bit of magnetism." Mikoto suggested, looking over at Ruiko, who immediately felt nailed to the spot.

"Eh? M-magnetism?" It sounded like she was trying to pronounce a complicated foreign word.

"Onee-sama, with what happened back in the office, do you really feel that Saten-san is ready to take on that complicated aspect of your ability?" Kuroko asked, giving her a meaningful look

"Ah… I guess you have a point. Though I think Saten-san is doing great." Mikoto smiled, and Ruiko reddened.

Kuroko gave a small sigh. "That aside, if there is a confrontation, it would be best if Uiharu is able to control my ability to some extent."

"Hm, you're right. Though I'd rather we'll be able to stop him before it comes to that point, it doesn't hurt to be on the safe side." Mikoto shot a thoughtful look over at Kazari, who smiled nervously.

Ruiko looked at them all, and then down at her hand. While she could probably spit electricity all over at free will now, she felt far from ready to try and control all the power inside her. She felt a bit useless all of the sudden. Despite her having a Level 5's ability at hand, she had no idea how to use it properly.

"Don't worry, Saten-san!" Kazari said intently, and smiled at her when she looked up. "I'll master Shirai-san's ability in no time, so don't worry about it!"

"Who said you'd be able to master my ability in no time?" Kuroko harshly grinded a fist into the other girl's head. "Even if you do move this lock a few meters, that's equivalent to Level 1. Please don't get cocky just yet."

"Owowow, Shirai-san, the flowers!"

Kuroko put her hands on her hips and sighed. "In any case, we are losing valuable time here. Please get on with it."

"R-right…" Kazari looked at the padlock beneath her right hand again, and tried to focus. Staring at the lock as if it would burst into flames if she watched it intently enough, her entire body strained in the concentration. _Move the lock… have it reappear…_ She didn't know how to do it; she had no idea how Shirai-san could teleport with such ease throughout Academy City, or wield those metal spikes of hers with such grace. She did not understand half of what the other girl could tell her about the 11 dimensions and spatial movement between those. _Still, right now I definitely have her ability… _She'd already used it once; it should be possible to repeat that, right?

She closed her eyes tightly. _I want the lock to appear… over there! _Snapping her eyes open, she concentrated on a spot further behind the metal fence – and in the next moment, a strange sensation floated through her body, and the heavy padlock appeared in the empty air a few meters ahead and fell to the ground with a clatter.

"You did it, Uiharu!" Ruiko cheered, and Kuroko gave a pleased smile, like a proud parent. Kazari stared at the fallen padlock with a disbelieving expression on her face. _I did it? _A wave of excitement passed through her body.

"I - I did it! I really did it!" She beamed happily at the others._  
><em>

"Great!" Mikoto pushed open the gate and passed on through it; Ruiko followed, and Kuroko came after them, but not before placing an acknowledging hand on Kazari's shoulder.

"Good job, Uiharu. Let's go."

"H-hai!" Kazari answered, feeling like she could fly off any moment. _I did it! _It felt right out incredible. Even if Shirai-san might have helped her with her influence, it still felt like she had managed it all on her own.

XXX

Touma's day had started out pretty much as normal.

That is to say, he was already busy from the moment he woke up.

Earlier this week, he got a phone call from Tsuchimikado in the middle of the night. All he said at that time was: "We have a problem."

Touma had silently escaped his room to meet up with Tsuchimikado at the designated point. There, the other boy had told him how a magician had snuck into Academy City. This man was powerful and destructive. They knew his objective, and were prepared to counter-act him. However, they might need Touma's help to reduce the damage to the city once the magician started his destructive spree.

For three nights Touma had been hunting the magician while he searched his targeted jewelry stores. Touma confronted him, but the man quickly realized who he was and avoided him thereafter, seemingly treating it like a game. It was all Touma could do to get to his locations before he disappeared, and last night he hadn't shown up until it was too late and nobody was left on the scene.

Last night, someone else had encountered Constantine in Touma's place. The result was that the magician finally turned to his favorite way of causing a riot; the chaos spell. For the entire night and on through the day, Touma had been running around town trying to cancel any effects of this randomized spell. However, it seemed like whenever one occurrence was canceled, another popped right up; and in some cases, he couldn't even cancel it, suggesting its source lay elsewhere. It seemed like the only way to stop the mayhem was to get to the heart of the chaos; to stop Constantine himself.

And so, right now Touma was heading through District 18 on the chase of his trail.

"The cross is safely in the hands of someone we can trust," Tsuchimikado said through the cell phone. "Anti-Skill will not attempt to encounter him in a while due to their fake report; they'll need to clear out their priorities, not to mention wake up first. All we need to do now is to stop this guy from destroying the town."

"That's exactly what I've been trying to do!" Touma breathed back, running down a side street. "Where is he now?"

"According to the results of the tracing spell, you're right on his tail." Tsuchimikado said, his breath sounding a bit heavy. "Our only hope is he's willing to stop and engage you in a fight. We'll be starting a restrictive counter spell as soon as that happens, so he should be unable to teleport out of the area. Still, if he notices this and starts counter-acting us, he may break through."

"Damn!" Touma turned a corner and cursed as his fist connected with a flaming bird that came screeching from above. The creature exploded in harmless fire and its screech cut off. It wasn't a hallucination or projection; it was a familiar summoned from the chaos spell. To any other human, something like that may be highly dangerous. They had to stop this mayhem before morning came and the streets filled with people once more.

"Did you find out any more about his spell?" Touma asked, running off again.

"Ah, yes. It seems like it's a combined chant that uses the concept of human soul adaption to create ten different effects every time."

"What does that mean?"

"Basically, it's random."

"You explained the most obvious thing…" Touma sighed. He looked up when more screeches broke the sky. A whole flock of flaming birds was soaring through the air, leaving trails of embers in behind. They were too far away for him to reach.

"The spell takes a wide variety of spells and combines them with a single chant. Depending on how many magicians are casting it, the number of different spells unleashed varies. But there is a lower minimum requirement of ten magicians."

"That makes sense… but Constantine is only one magician." Touma noted. "Are you saying he's as powerful as ten magicians combined?"

"Not necessarily. He has most likely found a way to simplify the casting process of the spell."

"If he's using an item or something, I just need to destroy it!"

"Kami-yan always makes it sound so easy." Tsuchimikado sounded like he was grinning. "His cards are what you want to target. Constantine is said to have been studying a particularly dark branch of magic in his youth. It is said he had a mentor who had mastered the art of capturing a human's soul, a dangerous and difficult form of magic which share ties with necromancy. To say it simply, the human soul is a source of energy which can be used in a number of different ways.

"There are accounts of magicians suddenly disappearing without a trace. While most of such cases is due to a conflict or a ritual gone wrong, not all of the disappearing's can be explained as such. It is possible that Constantine has been using his knowledge of the capture of the human soul in order to gain his level of power. In other words, Constantine has found a way to be able to use the chaos spell freely. By capturing other magician's souls into flash cards, he collected their power for himself to use. It should be sufficient for him to have nine cards. With himself, that's ten. Though it's impossible to know whether he has more."

"So he's able to bypass the rule by using those cards in place of an actual magician?" Touma felt like that was the act of a truly deceiving being. That Glorious Prince of Sparkles was quite the bastard. No wonder he didn't belong to a faction. 'Stray' magicians were not that rare; Tsuchimikado had already told him there were at least fifteen of them around the world at this very moment. Whether they based their magic on sources other than religion or had a fight with their faction and were thrown out, most of them acted as freelancers and would do any job as long as it was well paid.

Apparently, the Catholic Church of Protestants wanted the Exterminating Cross so badly they resorted to relying on such an unstable individual to reach their goals.

Touma wouldn't have cared if it wasn't for the fact that Constantine was currently messing up Academy City pretty damn well. And he even involved other people in their confrontations.

"In any case, it seems like he's on his way to the bridge connecting area B and C of District 18. If you keep going in that direction, you should be able to encounter him."

"Aah, got it! Call me again if something comes up!" He hung up his phone and continued running down the street in a hurry. He had no time to run around the entire city to cancel the effects of the spell. He had already been doing so since midnight, and it had seemed like a hopeless approach already before he stumbled across Misaka and the other girls. That encounter only made it more obvious that in order to stop the spell, the source itself would have to be destroyed.

Hoping that everyone was still safe, Touma tried to up his speed as he ran down the streets of District 18.

XXX

They had been running for another few minutes when the alleyway abruptly ended, opening up to a spacious area lined by storage houses on the far end.

"We're here." Kazari breathed, looking over the place. It was dark, but the moonlight made it easy to see anyway.

"Indeed, these are the coordinates." Kuroko said, checking the GPS on her phone. "Looks like Onee-sama got it right…"

"So…" Mikoto said, looking around. "…that guy in the purple suit – you think he's still around?"

"I would doubt that; it is more than 15 minutes since the signal was received…"

"There were a lot of readings in the area too." Kazari said, wiping her brow. "We can't really be certain where he is, using those. I guess hoping he'd stay around was asking too much…"

"We can't let him roam around and do what he wants." Mikoto said. "Do we have another way of tracking him down?"

"Ah, well…" Kazari hesitated.

"Hey, guys?" Ruiko called over; she was looking around the corner of a building, and throwing them a strained look back. "Maybe these guys will be able to tell us something…"

Behind the corner lay five young men, all seemingly knocked right out. The ground around them was full of craters, as if something had exploded into it.

Mikoto stood above the guys with her hands on her waist, huffing. "Well, leaving such a mess behind, that's one giant lead."

"Onee-sama, you are not the right person to say that…"

"Huh?"

"…never mind…"

"Well, this guy seems like he's still barely conscious." Ruiko bent down over one of the guys, investigating his face. He was groaning slightly, and his eyes were moving beneath the eyelids. "Hey, you still with us?" She poked his cheek with a finger.

Suddenly, his eyes shot open, and Ruiko pulled back in surprise; before she knew it, the man grabbed her wrist and stood up holding her close, a knife pointed squarely at her throat.

"D-don't move!" He barked, gazing at the other three girls nervously. "I-I swear, I'll, I'll kill her!"

Before anyone could do anything else;

"Saten-san!" Suddenly, Kazari called out; when they looked at her however, she was already gone.

"Eh?" Looking back over at Ruiko and the man, Kazari suddenly stumbled to the ground right behind them, eyes huge as she realized she had somehow ended up teleporting right over.

"E-EEEH?" She blanched.

The man turned around; "What the – I said not to move!" He raised his fist to punch, and Kazari shrunk together; "Ieeeh, please don't hurt me!"

"Uiharu-san!" Mikoto and Kuroko was about to move in when –

"Don't you touch my friends, you creep!" Ruiko suddenly cried out, and a crackling ray of lightning erupted from her, striking his hand and knocking the knife right out of it.

"Guah!" He immediately backed off and grimaced in pain, but it didn't seem to be strong enough to knock him out. Even so, now he was weaponless and even more frightened than before. "What the – what the fuck?" He may be more surprised that they attacked him at all rather than the fact that they were espers. Frankly, the two of them didn't exactly radiate threat.

"Ah –!" Ruiko seemed just as perplexed as everyone else at the sudden attack. "Aaah, sorry, I didn't mean to…!" For some reason she started apologizing.

"S-S-Saten-san…" Kazari could hardly breathe from relief and surprise. She had been completely frozen there for a second. "Thank goodness that went well…" She sighed.

"Heeh, that's really something." Mikoto said, impressed. "You guys are getting the hang of it!"

"Heheh…" Kazari blushed, smiling sheepishly.

Ruiko scratched her cheek with an uncertain smile. "Well… it kind of happened on its own, really…" Her gaze narrowed, and she looked back at the man with a stern expression. "But if you try doing something else, I'll fry you properly next!" As if it was perfectly natural, more crackles left her bangs to compliment the threat. It didn't look as elegant as Mikoto's small threatening charges, but it was just as effective.

"T-that's right!" Kazari added, pulling herself up to glare at him – though she really just looked cute with her cheeks puffed out like that. In the first place, the flowers on her head made it hard to look anything but harmless. "We're from Judgment, and we _will_ arrest you!"

The man realized his defeat, and fell to his knees. "I'm sorry!" He cried. "I'm sorry!" He put his face and arms down in front, as if he was praying to some sacred saint. "Please don't hurt me; this guy suddenly showed up and knocked us all out – I thought you were with him – please, I'm sorry!" He was shivering, as if expecting to be struck down any second.

"This is too much." Kuroko muttered. Sighing, she put back the spikes she had drawn from her belt and looked over at the remaining guys, seeing their disheveled clothes and ruffled looks. "In any case, how did you end up like this?"

The man sniveled. "We were on our way home after following a little girl back to her dormitory when we suddenly saw this guy standing here, so we approached him and asked whether he was lost… but he just laughed and suddenly started flaunting his ability around… knocked us all right down…" He was sobbing while talking, making his words hard to pick up in places. Ruiko suddenly felt a bit sorry for him.

"Delinquents being Good Samaritans?" Kuroko sounded skeptical.

"Uh, hai… I don't know the details, but I heard a really powerful girl came around here a while ago and beat up all the gang leaders and made them promise to only do good deeds from then on…"

"Do you have any idea what happened after that man attacked you?" Mikoto asked of the man, while Kuroko scratched her cheek cluelessly.

"Aaah – suddenly, someone called out – I don't know who it was, but I think he chased the man off. I probably passed out around that time, since I can't remember… Aah, the shame!" He started sobbing into his hands. "How can I face the boss after being humiliated by a homeless bum and a group of girls? Aaaah!"

Leaving him to cry, Mikoto, Kuroko and the other girls and looked at each other.

"Do you think that other person is…?" Kuroko envisioned a certain spiky-haired guy in her mind, complete with an evil grin and a foul aura.

"It's got to be." Mikoto huffed. "He's always getting himself into trouble like that. Jeez, that moron!" A sudden fizzle of electricity left Ruiko's bangs.

"Aaah, Misaka-san!"

"Ah, sorry…"

"Then maybe our biggest chance to find them is by following his trail?" Kazari suggested, pulling her PDA out from the inside of her uniform. "We can try tracking his cell phone via the Central Cell Phone Position System."

Everyone stared at the small computer in her hand with huge eyes.

Kazari blinked at the lack of response. "…what?"

"…did you just pull that thing out of your bra?" Ruiko couldn't believe her eyes.

Kazari reddened and spluttered: "Aaah, there's an inner pocket in our uniform, Saten-san! With you flipping my skirt all the time, it may fall out of the skirt pocket, so I keep it in the inner pocket instead!"

"Still… that's pretty bold…"

"It's kept in a _pocket_!"

Mikoto sweat-dropped; Kuroko on the other hand, seemed totally flabbergasted as she muttered to herself: "Uiharu wears a _bra_…?"

"Anyway…" Mikoto said, deciding she'd rather not indulge in her roommate's thoughts on the subject, "can you track him with your computer, Uiharu-san?"

"As long as his phone is switched on there shouldn't be a problem!" Kazari readied her PDA while Kuroko kept studying her closely. "What's his number?" The flowery girl looked up at them with a smile.

"Eh?" Mikoto stared at her incredulously.

"I need his phone number to track him…" Kazari trailed off, seeing her blank face. "Ah, but no worries. We can find it easily with a search in the database." She pushed a few buttons, and then looked up. "So what's his name?"

…

"Dumbass."

"Bra Grabber."

"Street-wise Preacher!"

"…I don't think any of those are valid Japanese names…"

XXX

Everything had been carefully planned out. The Catholic Church of Protestants had been planning this ever since they first discovered the scroll in their ancient library containing information about a most valuable object.

The Exterminating Cross – a golden cross necklace with power rivaling even those of the Saints. It was powerful enough to wipe out a city the size of New York or twist time itself with a single chant (no guarantee both won't happen at once). Needless to say, anyone who got their hands on that cross would gain a huge boost in their significance, and every respected church society in the world was on the hunt for this item. Of course, the Catholic Church of Protestants wanted in on that.

However, since their own members were useless for anything beyond drinking altar wine and praying for better hands in online poker games, they hired one of the most reputable magicians around to do the job for them. Constantine, the Glorious Prince of Sparkles, was a feared and respected magician of the neutral circle – the ones that belonged to no society, but lent their powers to those would pay. It was not cheap, but for such a valuable object, any price was worth it. And the Catholic Church of Protestants happened to have a lot of money, as winning in poker do tend to give a certain profit.

Besides, the task was not something just anyone could pull off. The cross had been travelling across the world in the hands of people not knowing its properties – and it had recently ended up in a jewelry store inside Academy City. The city of espers, forbidden ground to any magician who valued their life or limbs.

Thanks to his powers Constantine was easily able to enter the city, but the search had turned out to be different than what was anticipated. The targeted jewelry store did not have the necklace – and neither did any of the others he'd checked. Constantine was not known for leaving no traces, as was one of his trademarks, and one of the reasons why he was feared even amongst other magicians. He quickly grew bored with a job that did not provide enough entertainment, and that was when the havoc began – playing around with his surroundings was way more amusing than going on a wild goose chase.

After the first few nights proved fruitless, it was obvious someone had beaten them to it. His priorities therefore changed from completing his hired job to do something entirely else – mainly producing himself some entertainment.

What had gone wrong? Was the plan of the Catholic Church of Protestants faulty? Would Academy City declare war upon the church once they found out they were behind this seeming assault?

He didn't care.

What Constantine cared for, was having fun. And right now, he was definitely enjoying himself.

Currently, the magician-for-hire was waiting on a desolate location of District 18. Waiting for his opponent to show up.

"I wonder what kind of fun I can expect from him~" He sang it out like a child, small glitters floating in the air around him, sparkling as if mirroring his enjoyment. "Such an opponent as him is rare indeed! I must make sure to use this situation for all it's worth! Haha!" His laugh was joyful.

It had been quite amusing to observe the city's adults desperately trying to keep everything under control while his favorite spell ran amok. Even more entertaining however, was watching the bothersome kid with the spiky black hair running around in a frenzy trying to cancel every single occurrence until he realized it was futile, and started chasing the source instead.

Constantine was surprised to meet someone who could even hope to fight back, but he didn't exactly mind. Rather, the fact that someone like that boy had showed up, was more than enough reason to stay a little longer. He would make sure to enjoy this last show before departing for the outside world once more.

"This city is way too much fun!"

* * *

><p>Even though I'm being as slow as something that's REALLY slow, I haven't stopped writing the story! Hope this was enjoyable enough to make up for it.<p>

Someone mentioned "sudden powers awakening"! I agree that would be cool, but this is a cliché switchover. So instead you get Saten Ruiko, the Level 5 Electromaster. Take it or leave it! (And Kazari the Teleporter of course… you know, the sidekick.)

My favorite part of this part is definitely the last part. That said, I suddenly found it a great idea to rearrange the chapter using parts of part 6 - so now I've got to mend part 6 and come up with something new and exciting for that chapter. Well, what else is new? Watching Fate/Zero gives me lots of inspiration for fight scenes at least! (And obviously, this story is placed before Mikoto got Touma's number, so have a go at placing it in a time-line (as if it would fit anywhere).)

Words and terms:_  
>The Good Samaritan:<em> The story of the Good Samaritan comes from the Bible, where a Samaritan was the only person who helped a traveler lying beaten on the road. The Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant (~Western Asia).

(I learned something new again.)

**Next time: **Sparks and sparkles


	8. Part 6: Sparks and Sparkles

**Part 6: Sparks and Sparkles**

Touma stepped forward like a Death God about to throw judgment on a hapless soul, or a bar keeper ready to throw out the drunkard who turned out to have no money to pay with.

In other words, he looked dangerous.

"Constantine, you bastard…" He seethed as he faced the glorious man standing some twenty meters above him. The man was perched on top of one of the metal beams leaping over the bridge that connected one part of District 18 to the other. Touma was unable to reach him from this distance. _He chose high ground again… _He frowned; no matter how annoying it was, it sure was an effective defensive strategy. If Touma had some way of shooting him down it would be much easier, but since he had no such ability, he couldn't do something like that.

"Oh my, what an ugly sight." Constantine smirked. "How about you try smiling, little boy? I'm sure the ladies would come flocking your way!"

Ignoring his useless comments, Touma looked around for a ladder or anything that could take him to the top of the bridge. He spotted one on the right side facing outward, but the bottom half was missing. Even if he'd been able to climb it though, there was a risk he'd be attacked on the way up, and he'd be completely exposed. Furthermore, there was no doubt his adversary would merely change his location if he did reach him.

It seemed like he'd have to rely on _that_.

Constantine smirked. A spray of twinkling glitters erupted from his hat as he adjusted it. "I'm sure you know why I'm here?"

Touma looked at him determinedly. If he couldn't reach the magician, making the magician come to him was the only option.

"You want this." He pulled out an item from his pocket using his left hand, and held it up. Dangling from a golden chain, was a golden cross. It was pretty simple looking for being such a sought-after powerful magical item.

Constantine looked at the jewelry for a moment, and then started laughing.

Touma frowned.

"Hahaha! Well, aren't you the valiant one." Constantine praised, putting a hand to his forehead and shaking his head as if unable to believe what he was seeing. "Putting yourself in danger to confront the opponent with an irresistible bait. Exactly the type I love playing with. However that piece of jewelry is no more than an insult to me." He grinned. "Did you think I would not recognize a fake? The Exterminating Cross is a simple item to copy. The one right there does not hold a trace of magic."

Touma gritted his teeth. _He saw right through it._ This made things a lot harder, since he had no other tricks to get the man into his range.

Constantine made a half-bow with his upper body; Touma didn't understand his strange gestures any more than he understood his motives. "It seems like you have misunderstood something; allow me to correct you." Constantine said. "I do not desire the Exterminating Cross. I only chase after such a glorified item on behalf of my client."

Touma frowned, and let his hand with the cross fall. Using a trick Cross had been an idea of Tsuchimikado to compel the magician to stay around. If they could make him believe Touma had the cross after all, his senseless destruction would probably halt… was their thought.

But… even though it seemed not to work, the man still didn't give any indication to be leaving.

Touma put the fake cross into his pocket again. _I need to keep him here until Tsuchimikado and Stiyl finish with the limiting space. After that… _Well, how to deal with the man after that would be an issue he would think about when the time came.

"This is no more than a job to you, is it?" He asked, looking up at the man. "Is the job so important to you you'd destroy an entire city to accomplish it?"

Constantine sighed. "You make it sound so boring. I only wish to have fun!" He spread his arms out, glitters of different colors spraying through the air like fireworks. "This city has definitely proven its worth in that regard; much thanks to you and your little friends of course. But it seems the entertainment has reached its peak." He smiled. "I will have to make use of what's left."

Touma gritted his teeth and fisted his hands. "I won't let you do anymore damage to the city and the ones living here!"

"Really?" Constantine smirked. "Are you saying you have the means to stop me?"

Touma raised his right fist. "I have everything needed to stop you right here!"

Constantine observed him for a moment. Then he sighed, as if dejected. "You know, boy, just because I praised you it doesn't mean I consider you my equal." He raised a hand, and a glowing light started growing in his palm, "…However, while destroying the entirety of this city would be an amusing past time in itself, I cannot take the time to do so. The oh-so-boring adults would try and stop me; it's a bother to deal with those. As such, it seems testing the limits of you dedication – excuse me, I should say endurance – will be the last thing I do before I bid my farewell."

Touma crouched slightly, sensing the change in the atmosphere as hostility filled the space between them. "You wouldn't be able to destroy this city even if I weren't here." He said. Remembering what he had witnessed of the different students in Academy City, he was positive Constantine would be beaten down before long. But the damage he could cause before that was not worth the risk. That's why: "Even so, I'm going to stop you right now!"

"That's the attitude I like!" Constantine laughed. The wind was fluttering around him, the light spiraling in his hand sparkling with magical power. "Let's see how long you can keep that conviction!"

Touma gripped his right wrist with his left hand to support it, readying himself.

"Please, a hero needs more than one pose." Constantine grinned, and pointed his hand in Touma's direction with fingers spread out. "Let me see if I can coerce you! Candeo Fulgeo!"

The next second, a massive light engulfed the street.

XXX

"There's one more over there, Saten-san!"

"Aah, right. I'm ready!" The longhaired girl put a hand out aiming for the flaming, screeching bird swooping down at them from above. The four girls had been running along the street when they were suddenly ambushed by a whole flock of these strange creatures that looked like lab experiments gone wrong more than anything else.

Luckily, it turned out they weren't very tough.

"Take this!" With help from Mikoto, Ruiko fired a stream of electricity at the flaming bird. It exploded into fire and vanished in the air as embers, like the others.

Kuroko observed the phenomena with raised eyebrows. "Whoever created those cannot possibly have been meaning to use them for combat."

"They're not that great for spying either though; it's not like they're hard to see." Mikoto added dryly.

"Maybe they were mutated crows…"

"…"

Ruiko bent over, trying to catch her breath. "Ah, I'm tired…" Continued use of this ability was quite the strain, even though feeling the rush of power inside was refreshing. Hopefully the two would balance out. "I really hope nothing crazy happens next…"

"Next?" Kuroko asked, frowning.

"Well, first you two changed bodies, then we changed abilities… ah, I bet the next thing is changing gender!" Ruiko sounded ecstatic and horrified at once.

"We'll stop that guy before he can do anything else." Mikoto said, hands on her hips.

"Right..."

"Where to now, Uiharu?" Kuroko asked of Kazari.

The flowery-headed girl looked into her PDA, then up ahead. "Ah, in that direction –" She pointed, and at that moment a loud explosive sound sounded.

"What was that?" Ruiko asked, startled. As they watched, smoke started drifting slowly to the sky from someplace further into the town, roughly in the direction where Kazari was pointing.

"A bomb?" Kuroko suggested, though it sounded like she doubted that herself. Ruiko was suddenly feeling less eager on continuing in that direction, and Kazari nervously said; "Aaah, there aren't any residents in that direction, so it's unlikely there'd be any victims…" She may be trying to find an excuse for taking another route, even though her Judgment senses would want her to search the area for casualties.

"Let's go!" In either case, Mikoto was already off.

"Ah, Onee-sama, wait up!"

XXX

"Tch." A young man with fiery red hair stumped his cigarette into a nearby lamppost. "Damn that spiky-haired kid, putting me in a situation like this…" The man was dressed in a black monk habit, and his face sported a mark that looked like a barcode below his right eye. In his left hand he held a bunch of papers that were flapping in the wind, with a strange design on them. There were several silver rings on his fingers with different gemstones inlayed.

He did not look like a student of this city.

Rather than that, he looked like someone who belonged in a satanic gathering.

His cell phone gave a whistling sound.

"Yeah, yeah…" He pulled it out with another sigh and put it to his multiple-pierced ear. "I'm on it, why don't you bother someone else?"

In the other end, a cheerful voice came. "Aaah, Stiyl-kun, you know how Kami-yan is trying his best to keep that man busy so we can put up the limiting space… how come is your tone so sour?"

"Tsk. I don't approve of relying on that kid to take care of everything." Stiyl Magnus supported the phone with his shoulder and started picking out rune cards from his left hand with his right.

"You call him a 'kid' even though you're younger than him?" The voice in the other end had a slightly amused tone.

Stiyl huffed. "Say something useful or I'll hang up."

There was a grin in the other voice. "We're good to go over here. How's your progress?"

"If you'd stop bothering me I'd be done ages ago. I have two spots left. The bastard won't be able to move outside this barrier without breaking it first. Let's hope Kamijou is able to stop him before he notices." Though he had his doubts, with who they were facing. Then again, that kid had proven his worth several times already. In all honesty, a confrontation could go in any direction. _As long as he can hit him, I suppose._

"Ah, we better." The other voice said. "Kami-yan has the work cut out for him, eh? Then, give us the signal once you're ready, Stiyl-kun." _Click_, the other person hung up.

Stiyl made a displeased face as he stuck the phone back into his robes and started marking his surroundings with the rune cards. _If that guy can keep things in check down there, we'll be able to stop that man before he destroys the entire city. _It wasn't like Stiyl cared much for the city itself, but someone he cared for was currently living happily here. Even though he wouldn't admit it out loud, he felt it necessary to protect it for that reason alone.

XXX

_There it is! _Mikoto could see a T-junction up ahead: flashes of light were erupting from it, and loud noises like explosions. Gritting her teeth, she dashed towards it with increased speed. She reached the T-junction in question just in time to see Touma bashing his fist into a huge sparkling light, which exploded to all sides in a harmless blast. All around him, the ground was littered with craters, and the buildings beside the road sported huge damages, to the brink of being demolished. It seemed most of them were empty at this time of night; like Uiharu had said, these were not residents of any of the citizens.

"There you are!" With a pleased, yet pissed off exclaim, Mikoto strode forward.

Touma turned around; "Misaka!" Then, after reconsidering for a moment; "Err, that is, are you still…?"

"You've got a serious explanation job coming!" The girl said, stopping in front of him and jabbing a finger into his chest. "Just running off like that – who would do that in that situation? And what's up with this scene!" She gestured to the damages around them, as if they were his responsibility.

Touma scratched his head. His face was dusty, and he had several bleeding scratches all over. "Aaah, there were more important things to do back there than to explain things… In fact, there still is…"

"You're not escaping again!"

_Booom! _The ground beside them suddenly exploded; Mikoto looked sideways and raised her arm to shield her face from the debris coming their way. It seemed like a sparkling beam of light had hit the road and was now tearing through it like a laser cutting steel.

Touma turned around to block another beam coming their way, and the blast of air hit them with the force of an explosion, but harmless now that the beam itself was dispelled.

"What the heck?" Mikoto said from behind her arms.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko and the other girls came around the corner, and stopped abruptly when seeing the damage to the area. The first beam was tearing though the ground between them, sending gravel and asphalt flying.

"Kuroko!" Mikoto was about to move towards them, but what was she supposed to do…?

"Haah!" Without a moment's hesitation Touma ran forward, and punched his hand into the sparkling beam, which burst into nothing at the touch.

"Watch out!" Mikoto reached out a hand and grabbed Touma's collar, then pulled him backwards just as a piece of asphalt hit the ground where his head had been a moment before.

"Oh, what great teamwork!" An amused voice sounded behind them; Mikoto turned around and saw the man they had encountered earlier in the evening standing on top of the bridge. There were glitters floating in the air around him.

She made a face. "Ugh, it's that guy again… What's up with him appearing on top of bridges like that?"

Touma looked up at Constantine and sighed. "By keeping himself to heights where it's difficult to reach him, he can create havoc without worrying about a close-range attack…" He clenched his fist. "Stay back, Misaka!" And he took off down the street, towards the bridge. If nothing else, he had to lead his attacks away from the others. If he fired more beams at once, there would be trouble defending them all.

"Hahahah!" The man in the purple suit laughed heartily. "I'd love to see how you're planning to fight me! _Candeo Fulgeo!_" More beams of light erupted from his fingertips and crashed into the street around Touma, sending debris flying everywhere. It didn't seem like he was trying to hit Touma head on with the beams, but rather wear him out with damage from the pieces of asphalt and gravel hitting his body.

"You idiot!" Mikoto yelled, dashing off after him. "What are you doing, charging ahead like that?"

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko ran after her, and Kazari and Ruiko hesitated only slightly before following the two of them.

"Why are we running right towards that man?" Kazari wailed.

"We have to take him out of course!" Ruiko claimed, clenching a fist in the air. "Since we're the ones with any useful abilities right now, everything relies on us!"

XXX

"Haaah!" Touma cried out as he punched out another sparkling beam, and winced as something sharp flew by and scratched his cheek. They were already on the bridge, but there didn't seem to be an easy way of getting to the top of the structure – and definitely not without being blasted off in the process.

"How are you planning to get to him?" Mikoto, who was following right behind him, shielded her face with her arm when another spray of debris came their way. There was smoke and dust flying all over now, making it hard to see their target, but no doubt he still stood somewhere above them.

"If we can shoot down his footing like last time…" Touma turned around to look at her. "Sorry to be asking this, but can you do it, Misaka?" Though they may have to use continuous fire to destroy all his possible peaks, it was either that or get blasted away. He just hoped Stiyl and Tsuchimikado were able to finish the spell in time.

Mikoto instantly reddened. "Y-you don't have to apologize to ask me, idiot – uwah!"

She jumped backwards just in time to avoid a new beam of light; it tore through the air between them and destroyed a portion of the railing of the bridge. Touma determinedly jumped forward and dispelled it with his right hand, and then turned around just in time to catch another beam coming at him; it hit the side of his hand, which he swung out desperately, and exploded to all sides. Mikoto closed her eyes in reflex as the light flashed at her.

"Onee-sama!"

"Kuroko!" Mikoto turned around as they caught up to them; at that moment someone laughed up above. She looked up, seeing Constantine revealed as the dust thinned above them. "There he is!"

"Misaka, use your railgun!" Touma stood facing the man, ready to handle any attack he may throw at them.

"Nh – that's…" She hesitated, watching the man above them.

The man grinned, adjusting his top hat with one gloved hand. "My, is there a problem?" His smile showed off so many glittering teeth Mikoto was wondering if he had more of them than a normal human. Standing there so calmly after firing attack after attack, it looked like he was just waiting for them to do something.

Mikoto gritted her teeth. Maybe it would be just walking right into his plans, but it seemed they had no choice. "Saten-san!"

"H-hai!" Ruiko came up beside her.

Mikoto pulled a coin out of her pocket and turned towards the other girl. "You need to fire at him." From her tone, there was absolutely no room to think it was meant as a joke.

"Eh – ah – haaah!" Ruiko's eyes widened, and she clumsily accepted the coin that was offered to her, staring at it like it was a bomb. "B-but _how_!"

"Just flick the coin away while firing all the electricity at it."

"Will that work…?" Sure, she could flick the coin, and she was able to produce electricity at will now, but still…

"We'll never know if we don't try!" Mikoto glared up at the man above them. "I'll do the calculations; just concentrate on the direction of the shot and try to focus the electricity into your thumb." Rather than try to explain the mechanics behind it, this was an easier approach to the situation. Most of the actual calculations were still done using Mikoto's brain after all; all Ruiko had to do was use it as she saw fit.

"Aaaah, hai…" Hesitating slightly, Ruiko put out her arm with the coin poised ready in front of her thumb, and concentrated. Her mind was swirling; _What the heck am I doing?_

"What the heck are you doing?" Touma asked, still standing with his hand stretched out in front of them, like a bodyguard ready to stop any fans from coming too close. As he looked back at them over his shoulder, electric charges started spitting from Ruiko's bangs, and Touma's eyes widened. "That's…"

Ruiko frowned in concentration as she tried to follow the lead of the power flowing within her, to focus them at one point. The charges started erupting from her shoulder, then her arm, and her outstretched hand. She felt incredibly hot as the amount of volts inside her body increased at amazing speed; it was incredible, but also unsettling. _How strong will it become if I just keep on—?_

"Fire it, Saten-san!" Mikoto yelled, interrupting her thoughts.

"Wha – um – o-okay! Here I go! F-FIRE!" She imagined the electricity charging from her hand into the coin, and flicked her thumb at it, just like she'd seen Misaka-san do. She felt the rush of power within her flow down her arm and out of her fingertips, like a drain pulling all of her strength out of her – the next moment, a spear of orange light left her hand like a laser beam; the shockwaves nearly knocked everyone else over, and Kazari slapped her hands over her ears at the thunderous sound splitting the air. The railgun hit the metal bridge above them and tore right through the material like it was butter, and the entire structure shook from the impact.

"Wha…" Ruiko's legs gave out like jelly; she felt both scared and amazed at once. "I – I did it…?" She could hardly believe it. The feeling when that charge went off had been incredible – and totally freaky. "I fired a railgun!"

Kazari blinked, obviously stunned. "Amazing…"

"But the target is gone." Kuroko noted, watching the empty spot where the railgun had torn through the metal and left melted ends sticking weirdly into the air.

"We used too much time to charge up…" Mikoto reasoned. Still, it was the best she could with this round-about method of using her ability. She gritted her teeth. "Damn."

Touma seemed easily able to accept the situation, but he was looking at Ruiko seriously as he asked: "Can you fire more of them?"

She blinked, and reddened. "Eh? I-I don't know, I'm still a bit shook up…"

"Seems like our gallant duel has been invaded by some troublesome outsiders." Constantine's voice suddenly sounded; he was high up in the air beside the bridge, falling slowly like a feather with sparkles all over his feet.

"There he is!"

Constantine grinned, and swung his arm out towards the bridge. "_Candeo persevero!_" A barrage of sparkles shot forth – exploding with ridiculous force against the bridge. Though they looked like fireworks, they were far from that friendly. It was like the continuous barrage of rockets fighting jets can fire against a target – and just as merciless.

Touma gritted his teeth and flung his hand out to dispel the sparkles that came towards them between the frameworks of the bridge, but he couldn't do anything about the ones that hit the bridge on spots beyond his reach. The entire structure was rumbling, and the shockwaves blasted them with powerful gusts of wind and heat, and sprays of debris. Kuroko grabbed onto the railing with her arms after one such blast, and Ruiko fell to all fours, clenching her eyes shut. "What the heck is this!"

"Uwaah, it's like carpet bombing!" Kazari stumbled forward when she tried to evade one sparkle flying towards her, and tripped into Mikoto when the structure shook from the impact.

"Uiharu-san!" Mikoto grabbed her hand to hold her steady, and saw from the corner of her eyes another sparkle that had sped past Touma as he tried to defend Kuroko and Ruiko – it was already too late to avoid it. The sparkle struck the ground in front of them, and they were both knocked off their feet by the explosion. "Uwaah!"

"Onee-sama!" "Uiharu!"

The next moment –

"Eh?" Mikoto's eyes widened. She was facing the bridge, where the railing had been torn away earlier, and felt the wind tug at her clothes. _Ah – I was blasted off? _The thought went through her head as levelheaded as if she was just observing the weather. The framework of the bridge was made of metal –

—and then the terror tore through her. _I can't–! _

She was falling – and she couldn't do anything about it. She could only see the bridge disappear from her grasp. How far was it to the ground? Ten meters, thirty? Her chest tightened, panic surging through her veins.

"EEEEEEEEEEEH!" Kazari was falling with her, eyes wide as she stared right down at the ground below them.

"Misaka-san! Uiharu!" Ruiko cried out in terror, seeing her two friends falling towards the ground, still on all fours on the bridge that was being continuingly assaulted by explosions. Touma was in front of her, dispelling any sparkles coming too close.

"ONEE-SAMA!" Kuroko nearly jumped off the bridge after them, only held back when Touma leapt forward and grabbed her shirt. Instead of throwing herself off the bridge, she cried: "UIHARU! TELEPORT!"

"H-How!" Kazari shouted, tears running from her eyes in fear.

"Uiharu-san!" Mikoto shot a hand out and grabbed her wrist. "Kuroko will help you!" She had no idea how many meters were left before they hit the ground; she had no time to think about that. "You can do it!"

"I – I –!" Kazari had never done this before; had never teleported another human, and barely herself. Where would they appear? Would they be okay? They were falling towards the street underneath with terrifying speed – how could she do it in time? She clenched her eyes shut, feeling the winds tear past her body. _I can't think like that! Imagine it to be like parachute training! _They actually did that kind of training with Judgment; though she had no parachute on her back right now, if she imagined it so, she could be able to concentrate. She opened her eyes again, and saw a container by the side of the road, just a few meters deviating from their fall. It was filled with garbage bags and wooden planks. It was their only hope. She concentrated on that spot, and felt a surge of alien power run through her veins. There was no way she could do the necessary calculations of 11 dimensions needed to utilize Kuroko's ability. All she could do was imagine the result, and hope that it would work.

_Please!_

The next moment she found herself three meters above the container. Feeling a rush of sudden relief, she then hit the garbage bags and her fall was halted when she hit something hard below them. "Ow!" Her elbow smacked into something hard at her side; apparently they didn't throw clothes and mattresses into this container. The road below the bridge was currently being reconstructed, and the disposal mostly consisted of old building materials and leftovers from the new ones. But a jolt through her body was a small price to pay when she had just avoided crashing flat into the hard ground. Kazari flailed her arms and emerged from the sacks, and saw Misaka-san just in front of her.

"Misaka-san!" A rush of relief flooded through her, making all scratches and injuries seem irrelevant. They were still alive. Her limbs trembled from excess adrenaline; it felt like she could collapse any moment.

Mikoto looked over at her with a nervous smile, sweat shining on her forehead. She was sitting in the garbage bags like they were a sofa, right beside the planks Kazari had seen from above. "Aaah, that was close…"

"Are you all right?" Kazari took herself forwards and looked over the other girl; she seemed okay, but… her eyes widened.

"Ah, I'm fine…" Mikoto breathed, the panic still swirling in her chest and her head still a bit woozy. To be honest, she'd never been so terrified in her whole life. "I think there's something hard in one of these bags though; I feel a little jarred…"

"Misaka-san…" Kazari vaguely uttered her name, and Mikoto looked at her; she was watching something at the end of the container. Looking over, Mikoto couldn't really comprehend what she was looking at at first. Mainly because there wasn't much to see. Rather, what should have been at the end of her leg wasn't.

Her foot was missing. Her ankle ended in the metal surface of the container.

It felt like someone had just hit the power switch in her brain and turned the entire thing off.

"M-Misaka-san…" Kazari was stunned, pale-faced. She had no idea what to do. She stared at the scenario in front of her without knowing what action to take.

"Wh-wha… ah, aha…" Mikoto nervously laughed, and tried moving her leg, to pull it out – and the pain tore through her system like a spear. "G-guaaah!"

XXX

"I'm ready." Stiyl held the phone to his ear while lighting another cigarette with a flame on his thumb. "It looks like the damage is quite severe down there." From his position, he could see the bridge as blasts of explosions were rattling the structure mercilessly, and was barely able to make out the forms of human beings on top of it. It looked like more people had been involved.

"This man is a tough opponent," said Tsuchimikado's voice from the other end. "But at least he has nowhere to run now (as long as the magic holds…). Now everything is up to Kami-yan."

"Tsk." Stiyl didn't approve. "I'll be on standby to pick up the pieces of his sorry ass afterwards."

"Haha, I bet you're looking forward to that the most. Anyway, we're activating the limited space now." With no further ado, he hung up.

Stiyl took a drag from his cigarette and blew it out into the air. "Let's see you handle this, spiky-haired kid."

XXX

Touma's cell phone made a beep. There was only one reason someone would message him right now, and his heart lifted somewhat. _They're done! _With the limited space in place, Constantine would have no means of continuing the destruction of Academy City. He knew this meant he had to stop Constantine before he noticed and tried to break the spell. As of right now, all effects from his magic would not reach beyond the limits, and he would not be able to leave the area as long as the limited space was in effect.

There was another problem though.

The bridge was collapsing. Though the barrage of sparkles had let up, the surface they were standing on seemed to tremble, the entire bridge creaking from the damage it had suffered. Most likely several of the supporting beams had already been destroyed from the explosions that had struck it; it felt like it was slowly sinking. If they stood on it when it collapsed…

"We need to get down!" Touma turned towards the two girls still with him. Kuroko was still staring down at the ground below, seeing Uiharu and her Onee-sama hit the garbage bags in the container with her heart in her throat.

"Ah – here's a staircase!" Ruiko called; she had moved to the other side of the bridge, and waved at them. There was a spiral staircase attached to the side of the bridge, leading downwards along one the supporting legs. It was probably their best shot.

"Come on!" Touma grabbed hold of Kuroko's shirt and pulled her with him over to the staircase. He then shoved her down in front of him, and waited for Ruiko to join them before running down the spiraling stairs himself.

"Watch out for the debris!" Touma called. The stairs weren't located directly below the bridge, but they still weren't safe from bits and pieces falling from above.

"Iyah!" Ruiko raised her arms when a piece of asphalt suddenly razed down right beside her.

They had just come some twenty steps down when they suddenly heard another sound – like a half-choked scream.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko suddenly sped up her descent, and Ruiko moved to follow when a strange sensation flowed through her being all of the sudden.

"What—?" She stopped, and Touma halted behind her. The next moment, lightning tore into the air, uncontrolled, spitting and raging; Ruiko panicked, and Touma flung his hand out in instinct, dispelling the charges that would have hit him otherwise.

"Why are you suddenly spitting lightning!" He yelled, and Ruiko answered, just as terrified:

"I don't know! Something must have happened to Misaka-san – I can't control it!" She desperately tried to hold it in, but somehow she couldn't remember what it had felt like when it was calm.

Touma gritted his teeth and moved forward, grabbing her shoulder with his hand – instantly, the lightning cut off, and Ruiko felt the turmoil inside calm down. Before she had the chance to wonder how he did that though;

"Oh my, your predicament is getting worse and worse."

Constantine was suddenly hovering in the air beside them, a golden sparkle growing in his hand. He was grinning contently. "At this rate, I wonder if I need to do anything at all."

Touma turned his head to look at him, and the magician laughed: "I am joking, of course. _Candeo 5!_" He tossed his glowing sparkle towards them, and it suddenly split into many.

_I can't let go of this girl and I can't block the attack! _Touma did the only thing he could at the moment; kicked off from the staircase and pushed Ruiko down with him, stumbling down several steps before the sparkles hit the staircase and exploded. The stair rattled and swayed slightly; Ruiko, now panicking for other reasons, ran on downwards, and Touma lost the grip on her shoulder. Electric charges spat out and were dispelled against his hand. With the staircase and bridge razing behind and above him and a girl unable to control the lightning spitting from her in front, he was trapped in a rather unfavorable situation.

Ruiko ran down the stairs as fast as she could, feeling the turmoil of power inside lash out as if it was living its own life. Myriads of shining waves were cluttering in front of her eyes, and she was starting to feel dizzy, stumbling forward clumsily. The metal railing beside her suddenly twisted weirdly, as if pulled towards her by an invisible force – yet she had no idea how to stop it.

"My oh my, how the small fries are running! _Candeo 10!_" Constantine was grinning widely as he threw his hand out, tossing another cluster of sparkles their way. Touma gritted his teeth and turned around to block them, and instantly, charges of electricity zapped past his shoulder and struck at his skin, stinging him. The sparkles about to hit them directly were dispelled by his hand, but the others hit the metal staircase above and below them, and the entire thing screeched, swayed, and fell – Ruiko cried out, holding onto the railing for dear life; Touma leapt forward and grabbed her shoulder, once more cutting off the violent electricity (which thankfully hadn't been strong enough to kill him).

"Sorry!" He put his other arm around her midriff and tried to position them so they would suffer the least possible damage from the fall. There were only a few meters down now, but they were joined by the entire metal staircase and a whole load of rubble, and it all hit the ground in a mighty crash.

XXX

The road below the bridge was in the middle of being rebuilt as part of a project to make parts of Academy City look greener. This involved trading the old layer of asphalt for a new, more environmentally friendly variant, and plant trees and greeneries by the edges for scenery. It also involved having a lot of people work at the site during daytime, so there were several barracks and containers for trash and leftover materials along the road on both sides.

Kuroko climbed into one of the containers and jumped into the mountain of garbage, calling desperately: "Onee-sama!"

"Shirai-san!" Kazari cried, turning towards the longhaired girl desperately. "Misaka-san is – I don't know what happened, but – her foot—!"

Mikoto was clenching her teeth and eyes shut, doing her best to withstand the soaring pain burning from her ankle up, even if it was like trying to ignore a thousand needles in her brain.

Kuroko fought her way through the garbage bags, cursing her lack of ability, threw one look at Mikoto's leg, and gritted her teeth. "A split…"

"Split?" Kazari asked, eying the damage warily.

"Think of it as teleporting one object into another without meaning to. It's the most dangerous aspect of teleportation." Kuroko's feelings were swirling strangely. She was relieved they were still alive, but seeing Onee-sama in such pain was heart-wrenching. Though part of her wanted to blame Kazari, that feeling was quickly stomped down. If anything, she should blame herself. In the end though, blaming anyone was wholly uninteresting. That would not solve the situation.

"W-what do we do?" Kazari asked.

"We need to get her out. At this rate…" She paused, watching the foot which disappeared into the container. She didn't want to say it, but these kinds of splits, if not dealt with in time, could end up damaging the limb severely.

"How do we get her out!"

"In this situation, teleport is our only choice." Kuroko stayed level-headed, and looked over at Kazari. "You have to move her away, Uiharu."

"N-no way! How can I – what if I mess up even more?" She was appalled just at the thought.

"Ah…" Mikoto bit back a wince through the thick layer of pain clouding her head. Her forehead was slick with sweat, face pale. "It can't really be more messed up…"

Kuroko put a hand on her back as if to reassure her. "Onee-sama, please don't move." She looked over at Kazari again. "Uiharu…"

Kazari hesitated, feeling her throat constrict – Misaka-san's painful expression, the knowledge that it was she who had put her into this situation… and Shirai-san's pleading look – they all burned into her chest. She knew that, if Shirai-san still had her ability she would have moved Misaka-san without a moment of hesitation – she stayed level-headed even in a situation like this.

She gulped slowly. _I can – I can also…_ Slowly, she put a hand out and placed it on Mikoto's shoulder. "I-I'm sorry, Misaka-san… if I mess up…"

Mikoto gave a half-hearted smile. "No worries…"

Kuroko huffed, and then sighed. "Do not worry, Uiharu. I will help you relocate her to a safe spot." She felt it was part of her responsibility for not having been able to avoid this damage when they fell. But back then she had been too terrified to actually use her ability properly. It was somewhat surprising, though she would not stop to question it, that Uiharu had been able to use it at all.

Pursing her lips tightly, Kazari gazed at Mikoto's shoulder intently, deeply concentrated. _Please… please!_

There was a strange sensation in her body, which she recognized as the sensation of using Shirai-san's ability. The next moment, Mikoto was gone. She hit the ground outside the container with a thump, and immediately pulled her foot up, clamping her hands around the ankle. A cut was sporting the skin all the way round, blood flowing down her ripped up sock and defiling her shoe.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko climbed over to the edge of the container, and upon seeing Mikoto sitting on the ground still in one piece, relief flooded her chest. She was bleeding, but that was a minor thing compared to what could have happened. "Onee-sama!" She climbed out of the container, and Kazari followed, too wound up to try and teleport herself. She didn't feel like risking anymore injuries to anyone.

Mikoto was once more able to breathe now that the immense pain from having her foot crushed by the container was gone. In its place was a mere dull throb, which she could live with. The wound wasn't serious, luckily; it could probably have ended worse. A lot worse.

"I guess I should count myself as lucky…"

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko threw herself around her neck with a sob, burying her face into her shoulder.

Mikoto winced as the pain racked her leg again, but Kuroko's sobbing form forced out a gentle smile on her face. "…We're okay, Kuroko. Thanks."

A loud rumbling penetrated their ears then; like an awakening back into the real world.

"Aaah, Saten-san!" Kazari looked over at what had been a spiraling staircase just moments before, but was now mere rubble of metal and blocks of cement on the ground.

Kuroko raised her head, tears streaming down her cheeks still.

"What happened?" Mikoto asked.

"The entire bridge—!" Kazari looked up, seeing most of the bridge gone or collapsing, pieces falling to the ground or dangling from their connections high above.

With a puff of purple smoke the man called Constantine appeared on the edge of the container they had just been in.

"You-!"

"That was over faster than expected." He said, giving a small sigh, as if let down. "Is there any reason for me to stay around and play with you, now I wonder?" He raised a gloved hand to adjust the hat on his head, giving them an amused look.

"You monster!" Kazari cried, tears running down her cheeks. "Why are you doing this? Why are you even in Academy City?"

Constantine smiled at her. "Why, hm… I wonder if you'd understand. Well, it does not matter. This city provided me with an excellent opportunity; I have not had this much fun in many years. I must say it is a most delightful place!"

"…fun?" Kuroko's voice was so low it was hard to hear she had talked at all, first. Mikoto and Kazari looked over at her in wonder. Her head was bent, as if she couldn't bear to look at the man before them. "You think this is fun? You regard creating havoc in the city and injuring civilians as entertainment?"

She was shaking all over from suppressed rage, her fists trembling.

"Kuroko…"

"I will tell you one thing, Mister Vandal!" Kuroko suddenly pointed at Constantine with an accusing finger, glaring up at him. "For creating such a disturbance in Academy City, you will answer to justice! Judgment is hereby arresting you!"

Kazari stared at her in awe, before suddenly getting a determined look on her face and nodding in agreement. "That's right!" She looked over at Constantine. "We're arresting you!"

"Oh my, how dreadful." Constantine put a hand to his forehead in a dramatic posture. "Whatever shall I do?"

"You have only one choice!" Kazari shouted, fired up. "Give yourself up peacefully!"

The two Judgment members were glaring at the man lividly. In combination, they gave a rather intimidating presence. Well, except for the flowers in Uiharu's hair, maybe.

Constantine put a hand on his hat again, pulling the brim slightly down over his face. The huge grin on his face weren't lessening.

"This city…"

Kuroko gritted her teeth. "Uiharu! Take him out from above!"

"Ah, hai!" Kazari stared intently at a spot above his head and concentrated. Then she suddenly realized: "Wait, take him out with what?"But the next moment, she found herself right above the man's head. "Eeeeh, I wasn't going to—!" The short-haired Judgment member cried out in terror as she fell towards the man below.

Constantine merely grinned even wider. "…is so much fun!" He then disappeared in a puff of smoke, only to reappear on top of a nearby lamppost, red scarf draped around his body like a cape. Kazari hit the garbage sacks in the container with a dull sound.

"I never imagined I would get the chance to use my full power on mere kids." Constantine the purple-dressed man pulled something out of an inner pocket in his jacket. It looked like a handful of playing cards. "But it seems like the kids in this city is as hardheaded as they come. Then, allow me..."

"Nh – now what…?" Mikoto got up to her feet, favoring her unhurt leg.

"…to show you how the adults fight!" Constantine flung his hand out, as if to throw the cards into the air – and at that moment, a sudden streak of bluish light tore past his body with a dangerous crackling sound. He pulled back in surprise. "What—?"

"Don't think we'll let you do any more damage to our city!" Standing on the ground below the lamppost, just outside the rubble of metal stairs (which had somehow shifted their position from just a while ago), was a long-haired girl with a determined look on her face. She was dirty and scraped, and had a blue mark on her left arm, but looked like she was otherwise alright.

"Saten-san!" Kazari cried out in relief.

"How—?" Constantine sounded shocked, which in turn made Ruiko grin even wider.

"Electricity can be used for a lot of things," she said, "including magnetism! I guess knowing it was possible made it easier to use… in any case, there's no way a metal staircase is going to stop me!"

Kuroko had a heavy look on her face; "She sounds just like Onee-sama…"

Behind Ruiko, breathing heavily and seeming even more battered than her, Touma crawled out of the rubble.

"I'm glad she did figure out how to control it…" he sighed deeply. They had been lucky not to be crushed underneath the building mass, but it seemed like the electricity emitting from Ruiko had started living its own life by then, and possibly had helped them out. "Wait, am I starting to think of it as a living thing…?"

"Hahaha!" Constantine laughed merrily. "The way you struggle so cutely is highly amusing! But it is now over; with these—!" His words stopped dead midway. He had just thrust his hand out to show off his cards; however his eyes had caught onto something disturbing.

In his white glove, he held ten smoking pieces of paper. They were scorched from the top down, black edges sticking up weirdly. What looked like blue smoke was leaking out of them, twirling lazily into the air.

"WHAAA?" Suddenly, he seemed to be having some sort of breakdown on top of the lamppost. "My cards, you – you burned my cards!"

"Hehe." Ruiko put her hands on her hips proudly. "That's what you get for messing with us! (Though I wasaiming for _you_…)"

"But _how_? How could – the protection – it failed?" Constantine was obviously talking to himself, as no-one else understood a word of what he was saying.

Except: "I don't know what kind of protection you put on those cards, Constantine…" Touma stood up behind Ruiko. "But these powers you're facing here, are not magic! Your fancy defenses may just not work!" He clenched his fist and glared at the man above them.

"Magic?" Kuroko said dryly. "Even if there are such rumors circulating in the outside world, something like that is way too stupid. Of course it's not magic."

Constantine smiled, though it seemed rather strained compared to earlier. "Haha, how fascinating! Though I find it a shame to say so, it seems this is where the fun ends for now!" He pulled his red scarf around himself, which was when he realized something else. _What! Limited space? _It was like a cage around his mind; like spider web woven into his veins, trapping him inside a bubble. Unable to target an outside location, he would not be able to escape using magic. _Who could have…? No, it doesn't matter._ _At this rate, I cannot retreat! _Limited space was used for more than merely preventing magical activity outside an area. It also trapped the targeted magician inside, preventing them from physically leaving the border in any way as long as the magic was active. _How did I not notice this being set up!_

"Indeed, it ends now." Kuroko huffed, flicking one of her pigtails gracefully behind her shoulder. "You are facing a charge of assault, destruction, thievery and resistance against the authorities. You will be lucky to be sentenced to anything less than eighty years!"

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Mikoto asked, looking over at Kuroko. She was able to stand somewhat steady now, only a dull throbbing from her foot. "You just have to arrest him, right?"

"You're… right…" The flowery-headed Judgment member said, trying to regain her breath after climbing out of the container again; "Shirai-san!" She suddenly sounded very fierce.

"Yes, we will now arrest him. As Judgment members, this is our duty!" Kuroko swiftly pulled out her Judgment armband (_from where!_) and pinned it to her shirt. Once Kazari had done the same, they both stood proudly, facing Constantine.

"You are under arrest! Cease all resistance at once!"

Constantine stared at them. His lips slowly formed into a grin. "Heh…" A small laugh left his throat. He calmly gazed at the cards in his hand, using his magic to mend the rifts enough to stop the leaking of power. Then he stuffed them back into his suit. "I am indeed impressed." He looked down at them, a disturbing light in his eyes. "Very well. I will now proceed to exterminate you. _Candeo fulgeo plures_!" And then, from his raised hands with the fingers spread, another ten beams of sparkling light shot into the air and crashed into the ground around them.

Touma ran forward to dispel what he could, while the girls tried to avoid the beams to their best extent. Kazari was nearly hit by one charging at her, but managed to teleport out of harm's way; Kuroko sought cover behind the container that was outside the scope of the attack; Mikoto dashed off towards a nearby barracks for the same reason. Feeling dizzy from the pain in her foot, she leaned her back into the provisional building, and slid down to a sitting position, breathing heavily.

Ruiko, while running around in-between the beams, called out: "You're not the only one who can do fancy tricks!" And a barrage of lightning spat into the air, striking anything and everything and not even close to hitting the actual target.

Touma used his right hand to defend himself from the new assault, sweat-dropping.

"Uwaaah, Saten-san!" Kazari cried out and teleported away when the lightning strikes hit the ground close to her.

Constantine answered the counter-attack by flinging a set of sparkling balls towards Ruiko, but the lightning she emitted tore through them and made them blow up before it was intended.

Kazari covered her ears. "Saten-san!" And then her eyes widened as she felt the strange sensation inside her body surge – "Eh? What? S-Shirai-san!" The next moment, she was no longer at that spot.

"If that's how it's going to be, I'll do this!" Ruiko put a hand out towards the lamppost the purple-clad man was standing on and tried to imagine it bending downwards. As if applying itself to her imagination, the electricity became magnetism and started pulling at the metal lamp, slowly bending it sideways. Constantine hardly even noticed, too busy trying to blast Kazari, who were now repeatedly appearing and reappearing in the air around him like a bothersome fly.

"Shirai-san!" Kazari cried out in-between teleports. "Let me do it, please!"

"Above his head, Uiharu! Hit his neck!" Kuroko pointed, and Kazari appeared at the spot in question, whining in fear. It seemed like Kuroko was able to use Kazari as live ammo for her ability, though she was unable to do much besides having her appear at different locations.

Apparently growing tired of this game, Constantine pulled his scarf up and disappeared from his spot. Kazari barely managed to teleport away before hitting the electrified lamppost, and landed on the ground beside it with her back first. "Oww…"

Ruiko was gasping heavily, small charges leaving her bangs. "Man, this is exhausting…" She wiped her forehead. "I can't even imagine how Misaka-san manages to do half of the things she does…" Firing that railgun earlier had been more than enough for her. If she were to do it again, she would probably collapse.

Constantine appeared on top of the barracks nearby. "I am thrilled to see such great endeavor in such small, fragile minds." He said. "It is time, I think, to end this!"

And he thrust his hands into his suit, pulling out a bunch of cards in each hand. His laugh was insane as he held them up, some cards even fluttering from his grasp to the ground like they were insignificant in the total amount. "Let us see how much damage your wonderful city can take before –"

"SHUT – UP!" _Thump! _His speech was interrupted when a large rock hit the side of his head with deadly perfection. He was knocked sideways off his feet, cards fluttering everywhere.

Down at the ground, Mikoto stood breathing heavily, glaring up. "Stop showing off, you bastard."

"Misaka!" Touma came sprinting at her, legs working relentlessly. "We'll take him out before he recovers!"

"Wha – don't think I'm doing this to help you look cool or something!" Mikoto reddened, running forward to meet him head on and cupping her hands to make a makeshift ladder.

"Thanks!" Touma leapt onto the support and then sprang upwards, getting a grab on the edge of the barracks and climbing up. "Constantine!" He raged – but realized the man was already gone. "Ah – damn!" But his cards lay spread over the roof – this was the chance to cut off his powerful magic. He bent down and started smacking his hand onto all the cards in his proximity. They crumbled at his touch, like leaves drying and shriveling up, but there were so many! He called down while working: "Don't let him escape!"

"Easier said than done when dealing with someone who can turn into a puff of smoke…" Mikoto muttered. "Eh?" Her eyes widened as she felt someone behind her. She hadn't noticed like she usually would with her ability, it was more like his presence just radiated of animosity that prickled her skin and told her he was there. Looming at her from above, the bleeding, enraged face of Constantine sneered at her.

"Nh—!" She turned around, just to look right into his hand, which met her forehead.

Her eyes widened. _Crap—!_

"_Cor vicissitudo_."

It felt like a switch was flipped inside her head. Mikoto winced and pulled away from him, feeling dizzy. A cold sensation spread from the point his hand had touched, soon enveloping her entire head.

"Onee-sama!"

"Misaka-san!" Kazari teleported over before she could think, and appeared above the man's head again. Just as she was about to hit his neck however, a blast of air hit her full-force, like he suddenly emitted the same amount of energy as a flight engine. Kazari was flung backwards, but somehow managed to grab onto the man's flowing red scarf in the process. The garment was pulled off his form, and she rolled over the ground with the scarf in her hand.

As if he didn't even care anymore, the man breathed deeply for a couple of moments, and then grinned. "Damn… This is just too much fun…" He looked up at Mikoto, who was holding her head and grimacing as strange feelings flowed through her entire body, trying to back off from him at the same time. Constantine gave a small chuckle. "This is way too much fun!"

"You bastard!" Ruiko cried out, running towards them; blue charges spitting from her bangs as she prepared to fire a lightning strike.

Constantine just laughed even louder.

"Take this!" Ruiko stopped and fired the electricity; like a spear, it tore through the air – but instead of hitting her intended target, Mikoto suddenly stood in the way, taking the attack head on.

"Gah –!" Ruiko blanched and paled. "M-Misaka-san!" It had happened too quick, but... All of the sudden, she'd blasted the wrong person-?

But even after taking the hit head on like that, Mikoto seemed unhurt. Ruiko was relieved. "I guess hurting you with your own ability would be kind of weird…"

"O-Onee-sama! Why are you suddenly defending that man!" Kuroko came up beside Ruiko, looking shocked.

Mikoto laughed weirdly. "I-I don't know. Haha, I'm not feeling that great..."

"We have to stop that man, not play around!"

At that moment, Touma's hand met with the last bunch of cards; they erupted into blue flames that soon vanished at contact with his skin. Wiping his brow, he stood up on the roof.

"That should do it…" He looked down and noticed Mikoto facing the other girls with Constantine at her back. "Now what…?"

"Ah –" Ruiko suddenly felt something drain out of her; the pressure in her head and the strange sensations from the air around her suddenly disappeared, leaving her feeling lighter than before. She breathed out, feeling relieved and strangely empty, yet comfortable, all at once. "Finally…"

Beside her, Kuroko's eyes widened as a familiar sensation filled her insides – "Is this…?" She looked over at Kazari, as if for confirmation.

Kazari, standing some ways off clutching the red scarf, looked up nervously. "Our abilities changed back…" She was suddenly awfully aware of how vulnerable she was, standing in the open like this.

Mikoto let out a breath as the senses she was so used to returned to her once more. It felt like a missing piece of her was replaced, a hole in her chest filled in. Despite the strange sensation still lingering in her body, it definitely felt better.

"Well, well," a voice behind her sounded, and she stiffened abruptly, the hairs in her neck standing on end. "So you've destroyed my cards. I wouldn't have expected that from mere kids." Constantine's grin was close to splitting his skull in half. "Sorry to say, this just makes the current situation more favorable to me." He raised a hand to adjust his hat. A drop of blood ran down his temple, from where the rock had hit him, like an eerie picture. "Did you know soul manipulation can be used for other means than trapping souls in cards?" He grinned at Mikoto, who shuddered, feeling his hand touching her head again like a lingering illusion.

Touma gritted his teeth. "Give it up, Constantine! You've nothing left to fight with!" Or so he hoped.

"Oh, how naïve!" The man sounded exceptionally gleeful. He threw a hand out, like a majestic pharaoh addressing his kingdom. "I have more than enough options left to me; now let's see you destroy each other!"

"Gah!" Mikoto stiffened as a strange sensation settled in her body – like a pull on her mind, impossible to avoid. "N-no way—!" Against her will, her arm raised and pointed at Kuroko and Ruiko. She tried to fight it with her entire being, but it was like her body acted on a subconscious level.

"Onee-sama!"

"G-ge – get out of the way!" Mikoto panicked as the sparks leapt from her skin without her consent, and suddenly exploded forth in a lightning strike aimed right at the two girls.

Her warning had not been taken lightly however; Kuroko had already grabbed Ruiko and teleported away before the lightning struck through the air. Kazari, standing off to the side with the red scarf in her hands, stared with huge eyes when the two of them appeared beside her.

"What's going on?" Ruiko asked, heart beating harshly. "Did you do something to piss her off, Shirai-san!"

"How rude." Kuroko huffed.

"What – what's happening?" Mikoto muttered, trying to focus. It was like her mind was given different commands at rapid intervals – to fight and hurt– "N-no way! That's insane!" She put her hands to her head, as if to squeeze out the strange impulses that filled her insides like slow spreading poison.

Constantine sighed. "Seems like the power has been weakened due to the damage earlier. Well, no matter. You'll do good as my new toy either way!" Laughing, he put an arm out. "Now, let's put on a marvelous show!"

"Guah—!" Like a needle, something pierced Mikoto's mind.

"The hell!" Touma charged ahead, after climbing down from the barracks. "You've caused enough trouble, Constantine!" He knew the magician's source of power lay in his cards; if he still had the means to do anything magical, he must still have some cards left. Maybe those burnt-out cards were still usable – they hadn't been part of the ones he'd destroyed up there. He raised his fist with a roar; but Constantine, seeing him coming, just smirked.

"HAAA-Eh?" As if he could sense trouble, Touma looked sideways, and noticed just in time the unmistakable glimmer of a coin flicked into the air. His temples suddenly dripped with sweat. "Wait a—"

_KA-BOOOM! _The supersonic weapon was fired before he could finish the sentence. It hit home with deadly perfection; luckily for Touma, his right hand was right in the trajectory, and he had thrust it out on reflex the moment he realized what would happen, which turned out to be not a moment too late. Instead of piercing his body, the railgun hit his hand; the blast of electric heat exploded to all sides, while the half-burned coin span into the air. The force of the impact knocked him backwards off his feet, and he hit the ground harshly and slid several meters; there he lay for a moment, gasping for breath, his insides frayed with terror, his limbs hurting from sliding over the asphalt, and ears ringing from the explosive noise. "Guh-" He sluggishly sat up. His arm ached and throbbed, as if he'd just tried to catch the pitch of a professional baseball player barehanded. "T-that was dangerous…" There was a bleeding mark in his palm where the coin had hit. He wasn't too keen on trying that again if the power was upped.

Kuroko gaped; the other two couldn't believe their eyes. Not only had Mikoto just fired a railgun directly at another person, for no apparent reason – but that person was getting to his feet, scratched, bleeding and dusty, but seemingly otherwise okay.

"Aaaah, what's Misaka-san doing?" Kazari asked, blinking.

Mikoto breathed in and out harshly, her heart thumping against her chest. She watched that idiot as he got to his feet, her insides swirling in chaos. There was no clear thought pattern to follow; she had no reason to do what she did, yet stopping to ask questions was not possible.

"Misaka…" Touma started addressing her; she gritted her teeth, sparks of electricity leaving her bangs. He faltered. "Eh… it would be better if we worked together to take out that guy… kind of…" Seeing her expression, his face paled slightly. Somehow, it didn't bode well.

"I don't know who that moron is or what he can do…" Mikoto started, fingers twitching as the currents started spitting from her entire body, "but right now, I…" she gritted her teeth even tighter, "I'll beat you once and for all!"

Touma threw his hand out as a lightning strike charged his way; it hit him and dissolved into the air with a blast. Apparently, his immunity to her ability was as strong as always.

"Damn you irritating moron!" Mikoto fired another lightning strike, and another, and a third – a row of flashes shot through the air towards Touma, all aimed at different parts of his body, like an attempt to overwhelm him – he staggered backwards while trying to block them all, but when he blocked to the right, one zapped past his left shoulder and rifted the shirt, and another struck his left knee, momentarily paralyzing his leg.

"Ugh-!"

"Hahaha!" Constantine laughed heartily. "This is first-class entertainment!"

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko cried out. "What are you doing! Oneee-samaa!"

Mikoto paid her no mind, too focused on the jackass in front of her to care about their surroundings. With the voltage around her growing steadily, she gathered electricity in her hand like a grenade, and then thrust it towards the spiky-haired guy in one devastating finish to follow-up the barrage of smaller shots – Touma raised his hand again, and the intense electricity crashed with his skin, scattering in all directions. He gritted his teeth and supported his right hand with his left as the force against him increased – the heat from the electric currents burning against his fingers.

"Gah-!" His eyes squinted at the brightness, his leg shook.

All the while, Constantine laughed heartily.

Kuroko had no idea what to do. This was completely beyond her. "Of all times, to be fighting him _now_…" And with such ferocity too; it reminded her of a certain duel that had taken place this summer, when an entire park had suffered damage from the clashing of powers. Sometimes it was hard to tell what went through her Onee-sama's head.

"Aah, Misaka-san is acting a bit strange, isn't she…?" Ruiko looked at the laughing man standing outside the danger zone of the violent electricity. "You think that guy is behind this?"

"Aaah!" Kazari gasped. "Maybe he's mind controlling Misaka-san!"

"That is ridiculous…" Kuroko started, but when the other two gave her deadpan stares, she trailed off; "Eh…"

"If he's the one who made you guys change bodies and switched our abilities around, why can't he make Misaka-san do strange things as well?" Kazari asked critically.

"Oh!" Ruiko perked up. "Perhaps it's another switchover! You know, like a change of sides!"

"That is…" Kuroko stopped before even saying the next word this time. Scratching her head, she sighed. "Indeed, while Onee-sama is not unlikely to act this way, it seems highly untimely for it to happen right now…"

"Then that means we need to stop him!" Ruiko exclaimed, clenching her fist. "If he's the one controlling this, if we knock him out it should stop!"

"You sound a little too sure of that…"

"Just listen up; I've got a plan!"

XXX

When the electric genocide finally ended, Touma was heaving for breath; his fingers twitched, feeling like they were burned to the bone. Luckily, it didn't look to be worse than a normal burn. It would still hurt for days though. He slowly tried flexing his fingers, and hissed at the pain. "Misfortune." He sighed. He then looked up at the girl in front of him. "Aaah, are we done now…?"

Mikoto was glaring at him like a wrestling champion about to defend her title from a nobody challenger, sparks leaving her fingers. "You're still standing." She said, as if this answered his question perfectly well.

Maybe it did.

The electric currents emitting from her hands struck into the earth; black dust swirled up, in a recognizable pattern.

Touma pulled back. "Um, are you sure this is completely necessary…?"

Mikoto didn't bother to answer; she merely let the iron sand form into two swords in her hands, and swung them with unsettling familiarity.

"Ooooh!" Constantine cheered.

"I really don't think this is necessary!" Touma shared his opinion, but it obviously wasn't paid any attention to. Mikoto charged forward, eyes locked onto Touma as her target. It seemed her wound was far from her mind at the moment.

"You better fight me seriously this time!"

"I don't really want to find out how well you fight with those!" Touma crouched, and barely dodged the first swipe when it came for him; he felt the air blast past his skin, making his hairs stand on end. The next swing came from the other side; he raised his hand on instinct, and the iron sand exploded on contact, disintegrating into black dust. He didn't have time to be relieved before the other sword struck at him again though; he dodged backwards, and the weapon grazed his shirt and left a rift the length of his hand near his midriff. "Ack—!"

Mikoto advanced, the sword he'd disintegrated forming back into her hand. "Don't think you'll beat me that easily!" She grinned and attacked again. Touma kept dodging the strikes, and countered with his right hand whenever he could – with two of them however, he was outnumbered, and they kept regenerating every time he dispelled them. His shirt took more damage as he barely escaped the frightful swipes, the skin on his left arm was grazed, and blood dripped to the ground – and suddenly, his back hit the wall of the barracks.

He looked up, seeing her triumphant grin, and realized he was in a very bad position.

"Got you!" Mikoto struck down with the sword in her right hand, and Touma did the only thing he could think of – leapt forward, hand upraised, catching the blade head-on. While the sword exploded in a myriad of dust, Mikoto swung the other one at him, and Touma pulled sideways, throwing himself to the ground to her empty right side. His shirt was torn again by the sword, but he escaped being grazed any worse. Rolling over the hard ground, he got to his feet and gasped for air, turning around to face his opponent, hand hurting, but ready. He saw movement in the corner of his eye, and suddenly feared Constantine had decided to join in –

"I'm not done!" Mikoto, looking like she was having the time of her life, was already following up with another attack; the sword in her left hand split into several chains of iron sand, joined with the dust from the first sword, and charged at Touma from five different directions. He watched as the dangerous things closed in on him, his mind filling with thousand instances of _'MISFORTUNE!'_ –

And then someone appeared right above Mikoto, arms outstretched and a brilliant smile on her face: "Oneeee-samaaa!"

Kuroko crashed into Mikoto's back and wound her arms around her neck, like a girlfriend throwing herself at her lover after not seeing them for weeks.

"Gah-!" Mikoto, surprised by the sudden assault, fell forward and lost concentration on the iron sand; it deviated into completely different directions, striking into the ground and disintegrating, and Touma was able to dispel the one that came too close for comfort.

"Woooh, excellent!" The voice of Constantine sounded gleeful, clapping his hands in approval. Apparently he was most content with being entertained for now. His arrogance and self-assurance was making Touma feel sick.

"Onee-sama, surely you realize this is meaningless." Kuroko purred, sitting atop Mikoto on the ground. "You can have your fun later with Kuroko…" She looked up at Touma and smirked. "I'll take care of this; you go deal with that gentleman over there."

Touma hesitated only for a second before taking her offer; while he wouldn't want anyone else to get hurt, the teleporter would be able to hold off the Level 5 at least for a while. "Thanks, Shirai!" He then ran off, straight towards the magician. "Time to beat you down, Constantine!"

"Wait, damn you!" Mikoto yelled, moving to get up; but a handful of spikes settled into the ground around her, trapping her shirt and blazer down. "Wha—" Her eyes widened.

"I would be insulted were you to ignore me even now, Onee-sama." Kuroko smirked, still sitting on her back. "If you continue to be naughty, the punishment will get much worse, no?" She held up a spike, as if foreshadowing something grim.

Mikoto, still on her stomach, clenched her hands into fists and gritted her teeth. "I won't…"

"What?"

"I won't let you get away that easily, damn yooou!" Electricity struck out; Kuroko was effectively rattled and fell to the ground in a heap. The spikes were pulled out of the ground by magnetic force, and Mikoto got to her feet again, breathing was feeling dizzy and confused, and was suddenly unable to tell what she had planned to do next. Had there been a plan?

"O-Onee-sama…" Kuroko gargled, sluggishly sitting up on the ground. "Even if you are naturally hotheaded, this is a bit on the excessive side…"

"S-shut up!" Mikoto cried; her thoughts tumbling all over. "I can't think when you're talking!"

"My, it seems Onee-sama has fallen to the level of mindless destruction." Kuroko smirked.

Mikoto slowly shook her head. "I don't… I…" But it was hard to focus her thoughts; they were all in shambles, telling her to do all kinds of things. "Just – just shut up!" She yelled, not even sure who she was talking to anymore. "You're so annoying!" Her power struck out, a lightning strike sent in Kuroko's direction. Kuroko teleported out of its trajectory and appeared right behind her.

Mikoto, surprised at her own actions, hurriedly turned around; "Ah – I –" but before she could say anything sensible, Kuroko put a hand on her shoulder.

The next moment, Mikoto found herself on the ground at least ten meters away from the teleporter, nearly losing her balance from the surprise – and someone moved in from behind. "Sorry, Misaka-san!"

"Huh?" Before she knew it, something red and soft covered her eyes up, and was wrapped around her head like a turban. "What the—?" She could see nothing but red cloth, and it smelled of men's perfume, making her dizzy.

Then someone else stood beside her, and her hands were grabbed and quickly cuffed at her back. Her initial reaction was to let out electricity and defend herself – but she pulled it back, refusing to do it – and that gave Kuroko the leeway needed to finish the job and teleport her into a nearby container.

"Gwah!" She hit the garbage bags that were all but feather-soft with her back first.

"I am sorry, Onee-sama, but at this point in time there is no other solution." Kuroko said, though Kazari thought she looked awfully pleased nonetheless.

Mikoto cursed. She tried to pull her hands free, but there was no use; Kuroko's handcuffs weren't toys that could be destroyed by human strength alone.

"N-now what?" Kazari asked. She felt slightly troubled that they had just thrown away their own friend, but there was no arguing that as long as Mikoto tried to fight them and not help out, it was safer to get her out of the way.

The way they had done so still baffled her however. _Leave it to Saten-san to come up with something like that…_

"Over here!" Ruiko called for them from another container, where she was hauling garbage bags over the edge to drop them on the ground. "There's lots of stuff in these bags!"

"Excellent, Saten-san." Kuroko grabbed Kazari's arm and teleported them both over before the other girl had a chance to prepare herself. While the flowery girl stumbled forward at their new position, Kuroko stood with hands on her hips and inspected the goods. "This will certainly do. Let us proceed with the plan."

XXX

"Raaaah!" While the girls pulled off their bravado plan of isolating the stray Level 5, Touma charged at Constantine, fist raised and ready to punch the living daylights out of him. The magician grinned at him even as he advanced, making no indication to try and run off.

"You still insist on challenging me? Aren't you biting off more than you can chew, _BOY_!" He pulled his purple top hat off and put his hand inside, pulling out what looked like a hand grenade. He tossed it in Touma's direction, and it exploded in the air between them. Touma winced and slowed his approach, using his hand to block the explosion before him.

Constantine's voice sounded content. "I would love to exchange a gentleman's blows with you; however…"

"Yaaah!" Touma burst through the smoke and dust with his arm raised and fist pulled back, dirt and grime covering his skin, scratches all over his face and his shirt in laces, but fire burning in his eyes –

"…sadly, I don't see the need to." Constantine lightly tapped his foot to the ground, and a sparkling blast erupted below his shoe; he shot forward with inhuman speed, crashing right into Touma in his charge. Their collision sparked a shattering sound as Touma's right hand came in contact with the air around Constantine, before he was knocked off his feet from the impact.

While he stood on all fours coughing, Constantine slid to a halt behind him.

"Seems like you're strong enough to break through my barrier." The magician said, dusting off his sleeve. "As if it matters!" And he kicked off from the ground again, another blast of sparkles shooting him forward. Touma gritted his teeth and threw himself out of the way, getting to his feet once more, and charging towards the magician.

"CONSTANTIIINE!"

XXX

"What the hell is going on down there?" Stiyl sat on the curb of the street, looking down at the scene inside the imaginary bubble they had created – the limited space that covered roughly 400 meters in all directions. He watched the fight unfolding below while lighting his tenth cigarette. Though he may be inclined to help out, he had a feeling adding more people to the fray would only deepen the chaos. Besides, it took most of his power to keep this barrier up.

Giving a sigh, he looked up into the sky. "God, why am I helping this guy again…?"

XXX

Mikoto lay surrounded by garbage bags, concentrating intently on her ability; she was using it to melt through the handcuffs keeping her hands trapped at her back. She had for a moment considered burning away the scarf on her face to be able to see, but she didn't want to risk it catching on fire while she had her hands bound. Melting the handcuffs weren't an easy task either though; she had to avoid setting fire to her clothes or anything near her hands.

Her insides throbbed from chaotic feelings and thoughts, and she gritted her teeth against them. _Damn that idiot... Damn them… _She drew a sharp breath and closed her eyes, but the thoughts that troubled her had already moved on when she tried to focus. Rather than try to sort through the chaos rampaging her head, it was easier to hang onto something familiar, and the urge to fight that spiky-haired boy qualified perfectly for that. _Damn him!_ The handcuffs were weakening; soon it'd be possible to break them apart. _I'll beat him up for good!_

XXX

Touma charged forward for the umpteenth time, still as furious, despite his damages. Constantine smirked and swung his hat in his direction; from its deep inside, beams of sparkles shot forth and crashed into the ground between them. Touma crossed his arms in front of his face as the debris sprayed over him. His skin already carried numerous bleeding scratches and burns, his shirt had definitely seen better days, and his energy was starting to run out from days with little sleep and much activity, not to mention this non-stop beating he'd taken. Yet he wasn't about to give up.

"Are we having fun yet?" Constantine yelled, sounding like he was having a very good time. Through the dust the form of the magician came charging towards him again, blasted forward by another burst of sparkling magic behind his feet.

Touma raised his fist and leapt forward to meet the man head on. Constantine smirked and pulled sideways mid-charge, Touma's knuckles merely grazing his long hair as he flew past him – Touma stumbled forward, cursing his bad luck.

"Don't be getting desperate now!" Constantine turned around and helped Touma on the way to his ground with a kick to his back.

"Dah—!" Touma hit the ground and lay gasping for air for a moment. His insides hurt, and his arm was aching like it had been twisted in a torture machine. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist; the fingers were trembling. _I can't let him go! He must have some more cards left – if I don't stop him, he may—_ He put his hands below him and started getting up – but Constantine put a foot on his back and pushed him back down.

"Now now, don't be so hasty." The man grinned. "If you're not feeling too good you should lie down and rest for a bit, no? It would be terrible if you were too exhausted to entertain your girlfriend later on." He grinded his foot into Touma's back, laughing.

Touma flung his hand out and grabbed Constantine's ankle.

"Hm?" The magician looked at him sourly. "What are you doing, rubbing your dirty hands off on my suit?" He raised a hand towards Touma. "I believe it is due time I wipe your face off the surface of the Earth."

Touma saw the sparkles gathering in his palm and felt his insides coil up. This guy weren't the same as Mikoto or the other esper's – his power originated not from his brain, but from his soul cards. It didn't matter if Touma's hand touched him directly; unless he could destroy the source of his power, it wouldn't make a difference.

"Damn it!"

"Hahaha!" Constantine laughed, "Don't start crying now – gah-?" His surprised outburst came not from some sudden action Touma made. It stemmed from the sudden assault of stone and wooden planks that struck his body after appearing from thin air right above his head. As they crashed onto him, the hat on his head was knocked off, and he received more than one strike to his face and shoulders. Constantine raised his arms in reflex to shield his head, backing off of Touma.

"It is time we finish this, no?" Kuroko suddenly stood right beside Constantine.

The man turned towards her, but before he could do anything she had kicked his knee with an elegant, yet obviously hurtful precision.

"Ack-!" His leg failed him, and the next second he was gone, as the teleporter used her ability on him.

Touma blinked; Kuroko then disappeared as well. He sat up, and saw that the magician now was sitting below a nearby container, and the two other girls were standing above him, attacking with trash bags and loose debris. As the magician tried to cover his head with his arms in the face of this onslaught, Kuroko appeared in front of him and pulled out her spikes. Next moment, the magician was secured to the container by the shining metal projectiles. He looked less magnificent with his hair a mess, covered in dust and grime, bleeding wound on his head openly showing without his hat to hide it, and suit in disarray.

"Well, Mister Vandal." Kuroko stood before him, looking exceptionally pleased. "Seems like your entertainment is over."

"Incredible! Marvelous!" Constantine laughed, and pulled at his arms without luck – then he opened his hands, and a glowing ball of sparkling light started growing in both of them. "But I will not be beaten by mere kids!" An insane grin on his face.

"Here you go!" Ruiko and Kazari dropped another present down at his head – the large piece of asphalt hit his skull with a daunting sound, and broke into two pieces. The sparkles vanished in the air as the man was promptly knocked out.

Touma breathed out, "Finally…"

– right when another daunting noise reached his ears. He looked up just to have a streak of lightning shoot past his neck – he froze up like a rock, sensing his life force sighing in relief.

"Don't think I'm letting you go just yet, jerk!" Mikoto had barely climbed out of the container before launching the first attack. Her hands were free once more, the destroyed pieces of the handcuffs left behind in the container behind her, as well as the scarf that had covered her eyes – in other words, she was able to fight once more.

Touma sweat-dropped. Though she had a tendency to challenge him to pointless duels at seemingly random points in time, he had a feeling this wasn't perfectly natural. He got to his feet, and swayed on the spot. Cursing his lack of energy, he called for the teleporter. "Shirai-san!"

"What?" Kuroko, who were watching as the other Judgment member used her handcuffs to secure the vandal, looked over at him; and saw him blocking another lightning strike. "Onee-sama!" Her surprise was perfectly genuine. She hadn't thought their strategy would permanently disable her roommate, but she would have thought it'd knock some sense back into her.

"Shirai-san, the cards! He's got to have some still – destroy them!"

"Eh?" Kuroko blinked.

"You mean these?" Ruiko reached into Constantine's suit and pulled out a bunch of burned, damaged cards that smelled lightly of perfume. "Hey, isn't these the ones I hit earlier?"

"Destroy them!" Touma yelled again, running towards them; he was stopped by the blast of electricity charging past his nose, and raised his hand again to block the next attack, even fiercer.

"Onee-sama, what are you doing!" Kuroko cried out over the sound of high voltage. "Stop it, Onee-sama!" It didn't seem like her voice reached the other girl at all however.

Mikoto utilized her magnetism on the container behind her while Touma was still blocking the electricity she shot at him. The metal container slowly rose from the ground like an ominous giant waking from its slumber. Touma gulped. If he was hit by that thing, there was no doubt his Imagine Breaker wouldn't help much.

Blinking, Kazari was the first to resume useful thought. "Aah, Saten-san! The cards! We need to destroy them!" She had no idea why, but if that man really was the reason for Misaka-san's strange decision to fight them rather than help them, it seemed like knocking him out wasn't enough to stop it.

"Ah, hah? Well – like this?" Ruiko used both her hands and started tearing one of the cards. It was tough, as if it was made of something other than paper – but at last she managed to make a rift along the burnt edge, and pulled the card apart down the middle.

It instantly burst into blue flames, and she dropped it in surprise. "Uwah!"

"Saten-san!" Kazari gasped. They watched as the card burnt itself up into ash, the blue flames vanishing into the air.

Constantine blinked, his eyes opening.

The first thing he saw was Kazari and Ruiko working on tearing up more cards with their hands.

"Wha – hahaha!" He laughed loudly, as if the sight was hilarious. "This is incredible! Genius!"

"And – there!" Kazari tore the last card into two, and the pieces fluttered to the ground engulfed by blue flames.

A sudden dizziness struck Mikoto, as if something pulled itself out of her brain. "Uh – what was that…?" She looked ahead, and saw the beaten, bleeding form of Touma – and suddenly realized what was going on. Her surprise cut off her electric ability, and the container that had been hovering behind her fell back to the ground with a bang. "Wha – what?" She stared at the guy who stood breathing heavily and looking like he'd crawled through a war territory. She blinked, and then reddened. "W-wh-what the heck was I –!"

"Aaah, you finally came back…" Touma sighed, wiping his brow. Every joint in his body ached and cried out for rest.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko cried out in relief.

"Kuroko – damn, that moron made me – where is he!" Looking over, she noticed the purple-clad man sitting behind the other girls, hands cuffed at his back and apparently busy laughing his heart out. Mikoto's face fell. "What's with this guy?"

"Hahaha!" Constantine cried and laughed at the same time. "Hahaha! This is priceless! Twenty years of collecting destroyed just like that! Hahaha!"

Touma came over, looking down at him. "This sure is a weird one…"

"I can't believe I was this careless!" Constantine continued to laugh. Tears ran down his face, but it was hard to tell whether he was really upset, or if it was due to him laughing so hard. "To think a bunch of kids – no, this is too much! I can't take it! Hahaha!"

"Err…" Ruiko and Kazari's faces told of complete confusion.

"Is he delirious?" Kuroko asked of no-one.

Mikoto, coming over to them, put her hands on her hips. "He's crazy, that's what. I wouldn't be surprised if he's been drugged beyond reason."

Touma rubbed his neck, looking at the laughing and crying man, and then sighed. "I don't even know what to say to this one... such misfortune." He muttered. "In that case," he raised his bleeding, damaged fist, almost apologetically, "I guess I'll just skip right to the punch."

— _WHACK!_

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong>

So after finishing the story once, and then adding another half a chapter, it is finished once more.

We even got a real fight scene at the end, sort of.

Regarding Touma: In the novels, he's always referred to as Kamijou. Not only when characters talk about him, but also from his and the narrator's point of view – even inside his own head. I have no idea why this is the case, and since it feels unnatural to copy the novel in this regard, I call him Touma. Actually, this has conflicted me greatly. I'm sad for Kazuma Kamachi for not indulging deeper into the characters and explain stuff like that. Maybe Touma has some sort of complex about his first name? Or is it normal for Japanese to think of themselves referring to their last name? (Though Mikoto doesn't…) Of course, I realize the novels aren't exactly directed at my age and/or mental-state group, so I'll just have to live with it. As long as the characters and the setting continue to amuse me though, I find it enjoyable to write fan fics about it.

Regarding Touma blocking the railgun: I know there's a lot of discussion around this subject. Some say 'of course he can, the railgun is a result of Mikoto's ability after all! If he cancels the electricity powering it, the coin will stop! Besides, the novels says he can!' and others say 'once it's fired the railgun is no longer part of her ability – besides, the coin itself is still dangerous even if he cancels the power shooting it forth, since it's already gained that much speed! If she used magnetism to throw a container at him, would he be able to block the entire container by dispelling the magnetism used to toss it? Think not!' To be honest, I find myself agreeing more to the last one in terms of logic – destroying the gun won't stop the bullet that's already fired, and we _are_ talking about a coin travelling at three times the speed of sound, which would hurt _a little_ if it hit you – but since him blocking it _is _canon (he does so in the Railgun manga after all), I compromised. I feel it worked out pretty well.

I had no time to read through the chapter once it got onto FF, so any swallowed words and oddities have been blissfully ignored. If you see any, please tell me. I also forgot to run spell check =S

Words and terms

_Persevero (Latin) _= Continue steadfastly

_Fulgeo (Latin) _= Beam

_Candeo (Latin) _= Sparkle

_Cor (Latin)_ = Heart, soul

_Vicissitudo (Latin) _= Alteration, change

Stay tuned for boring epilogue. (How can epilogues be anything but? Sometimes they foreshadow coming events in a sequel, sometimes they make no sense, and sometimes there is no epilogue and everything ends in loose threads. In either case, it always means the end of the story, and everything cool and amazing has probably already happened. Of course, I will do my best to make it as boring as possible.)

Merry christmas!

PS: I've started writing the sequel to ACDI. New bad guys, new plot twists, new headaches. If you have anything you want to see (or rather read), feel free to message me with your ideas. No promises on what will be included or when it's finished or anything of the sort: I have no idea.


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Since explaining everything in a way that would even make remotely sense to any of the girls would take a lot of time and patience, Touma decided to finish the job by destroying the hat and the scarf that Constantine had used to teleport around, before fleeing the scene. Of course Mikoto didn't want to let him go that easily, but she was convinced by the others that staying behind to ensure the madman did no more damage was more important.

Finally Anti-Skill arrived, after Kazari called them and reported the destruction to the district. They took the man and his belongings into their van, and thanked the girls for assisting in capturing the criminal. They could also report that the strange incidents across town seemed to have stopped, though they had no explanation of their origin.

XXX

And so, the next day rolled around without much ado.

"I'm glad the incident ended with no lives lost!" Kazari sighed into her soda.

"The damages are big though." Ruiko said, looking over from their spot at a sidewalk café to the side entrance of Seventh Mist. It was under reconstruction, part of the street closed off due to the work with straightening out the road.

"As is the paperwork…" Kuroko muttered. She was lying with her chin on the table, gazing at her soda as if it was an unreachable oasis. She had bags under her eyes and looked pretty much beaten.

"Well, good luck with that." Mikoto said, supporting her head with one hand. "So who was that purple guy really?" She'd spent all night trying to find that moron, and in the end only found too little sleep. Her eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

"Obviously he is an Esper. There is no other explanation." Kuroko sighed, pulling herself up. "Anti-Skill has no more information regarding his identity either. He may have been equipped with utilities to enhance his power, or maybe he's part of a cyborg experiment."

"There are rumors he is the subject of some advanced technological research facility in District 23." Kazari said.

"I heard he was part of an American experiment and that they're trying to create a new type of Espers!" Ruiko said excitedly.

"Hm…" Mikoto looked thoughtful. There were a lot of things she felt was left unanswered here. But in the end, none of it really mattered. She sighed. "Well, at least those strange things stopped happening." She still felt awkward about everything that had happened, and would like to just forget it all.

"Right?" Kuroko slyly latched herself onto her arm. "But experiencing a day in Onee-sama's shoes has given me the opportunity to see us in a completely new light! From now on, Kuroko will make sure to make every day a living paradise for Onee-sama –"

"_No_, thank you."

"Then at least take up on my suggestion of some anger management lessons—"

"Why would I want to do that-?"

As the Tokiwadai students started arguing, Kazari looked over at Ruiko. She seemed thoughtful.

"What's wrong, Saten-san?"

"Huh?" Ruiko looked up at her. "Oh, nothing... I just… after everything that happened, I was thinking… I feel kind of content being a Level 0 for now." She smiled and rubbed her neck while reddening slightly.

"Aaah…" Kazari blinked.

"Ah, I don't mean that I think it's okay if I never gain an ability or anything!" Ruiko hurried to add. "But after going through all that, I think it's better to be like this…" She sighed. "It was amazing, but it was just too much for me. I feel better if I can stand back and watch." She smiled sheepishly.

Kazari smiled and looked over at Mikoto (currently grappling Kuroko in a chokehold). "Well, without Saten-san's help we would have been much worse off this time. I think you're right though; it's much easier to be on the sideline." She smiled at Ruiko. "Still, I'm sure Saten-san will gain an ability that is equally as amazing as anyone else's!"

Ruiko looked surprised, but then she smiled too.

"Thanks, Uiharu."

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong>

And that's how it's wrapped up this time.

I'm sad to say I couldn't include all of my ideas at once in this story – like having Mikoto and Kuroko switch abilities as well, or having Ruiko and Kazari wake up with their abilities in chapter 1. As you might imagine, the story would be completely different in that case. Though I wish I could write it all, I had fun either way!

This story (or its underlying plot line) has potential for continuation, but if I ever do get the urge to continue, it'll be in a sequel.

Thanks to everyone who keeps reading my stories and reviews and favorites etc! Thanks to you, I am always apprehensive when posting a new chapter; "Will this be cool, or stupid?" "Will people get this joke or is it just lame?" "I hope nobody catches this attempt to wriggle out of a plot hole…" "Wait, maybe he should move to the left instead of to the right! …But what does it matter!"

(I _said_ the epilogue would be boring. It's an epilogue! It's supposed to be read right after the superb last chapter to calm down your mind and go like 'aaah, that was an awesome ride.' Well, hopefully that's what'll happen.)

See you next story?


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